The Power of Two, Strength to Save One
by airedalegirl1
Summary: One action decimates the lives of two very different people but finding each other they gain strength enough when they discover they need to save the very person who abandoned them both. Collaboration with katandjasper as usual. J/B story also as usual!
1. Chapter 1

**Kat and I would like to wish all our readers a very Happy New Year, may it be a good one for us all. Love Jules xx**

 **Chapter One**

 **Peter Whitlock**

How could things have gone so fucking wrong so fucking quickly? How had I missed the signs? How could I have been so fucking blind and stupid? My father used to tell me I was a moron as he whooped me with his belt and now I could see what he meant, I was and it made me sick to my very soul if, that is, I have one.

When I first set eyes on Charlotte I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Sure she was trying to rip my throat out at the time but then no one's perfect! She was one of a new batch of soldiers captured and turned by The Major and I was helping to train them. She was hostile, strong and royally pissed with the world and everyone in it but after the first couple of months as the heat of her newborn rage began to cool a little I saw something in her eyes, she recognized that I was different and soon she and I had become inseparable. We had to hide it, of course, Maria disapproved of relationships between her soldiers, she said it made us weak and I guess she was right. I found myself looking out for Charlotte when I should have been watching my own back and only The Major's vigilance saved me from having my head ripped off.

He understood the chemistry between us and covered for me as much as he could. At first, that was fine, he and Maria were an item and she listened to him, even trusted him, the only person I could say that of. But things changed, he changed, I could see that the life he was leading here was slowly destroying him and I realized that we were all being corrupted by the evil bitch. The only way to save ourselves would be to escape but that was fraught with danger. No one left the compound alive unless they were on a mission and every year Maria culled the newborns keeping only those who had proved themselves good fighters.

Personally, I think it was Nathan who told her of his suspicions regarding Charlotte and me, he was always poking into places he didn't belong, although I couldn't prove it. Whoever it had been it meant death for one or both of us. The Major came to me with the list of those Maria had chosen to die and heading the list was Charlotte's name.

"I can't lose her Major, I have to get her away."

He didn't say anything, just nodded and I wondered if he had thought of a way out for both of us because if Charlotte left then I would be at her side.

He showed just how good a friend he was by allowing us to run and from what I heard he paid a high price for his treachery. Maria would never trust him again and I heard that she was training that asshole Nathan to take his place. It wouldn't be long before my friend's name headed the culling list.

We went back time after time trying to persuade him to join us, to get away before it was too late but he just couldn't break free of Maria, she'd always had this strange hold over him. Only when he found her in bed with his rival Nathan did he finally break free and run.

He stayed with us for a short while but depression set in and he just upped and left promising to keep in touch. We'd been worried about him, especially as his gift made hunting such a painful activity for him. It had crept up on him as he found Maria becoming more distant and I really think it was her influence over him that dulled his senses to the pain and terror of his victims. Personally, I didn't give a fuck, I was a vampire and humans were my natural prey although I never toyed with them like Maria had. I took what I wanted quickly and efficiently then left the body somewhere it wouldn't be discovered before animals had hidden the true cause of death.

It was with mixed feelings I learned that he had joined the Cullen family, I had thought we were his family but as Charlotte pointed out, he needed what only they could offer, a diet of animal blood. I didn't like the Cullens, they were to holier than thou for my taste, smug and arrogant and looked down their collective nose at me but The Major had remained friends, visiting from time to time and ringing me.

I wondered if he had felt the gulf between what Charlotte did and the way she really felt. If so he had never said anything, maybe he hoped she would come to love me as I loved her. If so he had been mistaken and a few weeks ago she had finally told me the truth.

"Peter, I'm leaving. I don't want to live a lie any longer and truth is I've met someone else. Surely you knew we weren't mates? I liked you, a lot, but I got close to you mainly for self-preservation. You were a leader and The Major's best friend so I knew I would be safer if we were an item. I can't live this lie any longer, I want to be happy and I hope you'll find happiness too somewhere along the road."

There wasn't a lot I could say, nothing that would change her mind. I didn't even want to know who the guy was who had ruined my life. I just watched in silence as she packed her things and drove away, leaving me alone and very fucking angry.

I had been saved for the first few days by that all-consuming anger, ripping the place to pieces, destroying everything we had built together but even anger only lasts for so long. When it died, I died along with it, for the first time since becoming a vampire I wanted to scream out my sorrow, to die in fact. What was there left to live for? I had lost the only good thing in my life and now I was alone, more alone than I had ever been. I was an immortal being with no future, nothing to live for yet unable to die.

Sitting among the ruins of our house, looking at the tattered remains of my happiness, my life, I understood I was hovering on the brink of utter darkness but something held me back from falling in, the faintest of hope. I still had one friend, only one but the most important one of all, The Major. I had one thing to keep me from the darkness and I would find him, I had to see him again.

Of course, it wasn't going to be as easy as that, but then nothing ever was for me, the Cullens moved frequently so the humans they insisted on living among wouldn't notice that they didn't age. His cell phone was also dead, he probably got a new one…...yeah, I thought I remembered Charlotte saying something about that but if she'd written it down at the time it wasn't here now and I wasn't going to try contacting her to ask for it. Screw her! I'd find him some other way.

I hadn't expected it to take so long, like looking for a needle in a fucking haystack but then I guessed I was rusty. If he'd been in trouble then it would have been easy, it would have been better too because he might have needed me, my help, but then again he had his new family, not that those assholes would be much use to him if he needed any help. Then I got a break, I bumped into an old friend and heard that the Cullens were living in some Godforsaken town called Forks right close to the Canadian border. Well, I guess that was as good a place as any to live so I headed there without a backwards glance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **Charlie Swan**

Things were quiet in Forks as usual, during the week we had very little trouble unless there was a crash on the highway or some dumb ass hiker without the correct gear getting lost in the forest or up the mountain. Why they didn't make sure they were prepared for the wilderness was beyond me but every year some asshole went climbing or hiking in shorts and sandals with a canteen of water, a pack of sandwiches, and some mosquito repellent and expected to be safe. Luckily the Quileutes were great trackers and usually found our lost wilderness explorers in a couple of hours, hopefully before a bear or pack of wolves did.

Andy came in blowing in his hands and knocking snow off his boots,

"Snow's come early this year Charlie, you think we'll get cut off?"

"I kinda hope so, things are quieter that way. Anything interesting going on?"

"Nope, Doug got thrown outta Joe's place but that's nothing new. Oh yeah, I thought I saw a car going into the drive to the Cullen house. I didn't go back to check, I was on my way to the bank, that guy they thought was acting suspiciously turned out to be a security expert making a spot check on them. There were a few red faces when he identified himself. You want me to go back and check?"

"No, it's shift change soon. I'll send a patrol to check it out later. Maybe the Cullens have come back for some stuff they left."

"Maybe, weird the way they scooted like that."

"Yeah."

I wasn't going to get involved in a conversation about the Cullens. If I never saw any of them again it would be too soon after what they did to my little girl.

I decided to check the Cullen place for myself hoping I wouldn't run into any of the family there. The last thing Bella or I needed was for the family to return. They had left so abruptly and almost broke my daughter's heart. I didn't think she could survive another such heartbreak. I wondered if I could warn them off if they were really intending to return, it would be unprofessional but I didn't give a damn about that, Bella was my main concern these days.

There was a strange car parked up outside the house so Andy had been right, but it didn't appear anyone was making the place habitable again, all the blinds were still firmly shut and the front door stood open to show a disturbed layer of dust.

"Anyone there?"

I waited and suddenly a young man appeared at the top of the stairs. For a moment I thought it was Carlisle's foster son Jasper Hale but as he descended I noticed this guy had dark hair and was slightly younger although he wore the same reserved look.

"Hello there, we heard someone was at the house. Are you related to the Cullens?"

He looked to me very much like the family, the same pale skin although his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses.

"You could say that. I m trying to find The... Jasper Hale. Do you know where the family went? I thought they still lived here."

So, he wasn't family, how then had he gotten in? I had checked for myself that the place was secure.

"They did until about six months ago when they just upped and vanished and before you ask, they didn't leave a forwarding address."

He looked both angry and frustrated and I heard him cuss under his breath. Then he looked back into the house as if making a decision.

"I think I might hang around, there's still stuff in the rooms so maybe they plan on coming back, or sending someone to finish packing up."

"OK, do you have some form of identification?"

I guess he had a key, there was no sign of a forced entry as far as I could see so who was I to question his decision? The guy handed me his driver's license which was up to date and I studied it before looking up at him again.

"Well now Mr Whitlock, You're a long way from home. How do you know the Cullens?"

"We're old friends, I haven't seen them in a while."

He wasn't the chatting kind so with a final suggestion that if he needed anything he should call in at the station I left, still a little uneasy. I had that cop feeling, the one that warned an officer this guy could be trouble and I decided to send a patrol car to check on the house the following day. If the Cullens hadn't sent someone to finish packing up the house by now I doubted they were going to do so and I wasn't inclined to protect their place for them under the circumstances.

Once back at the station I ran a background check on Mr Peter Whitlock but came up blank, he had no criminal past, not so much as a parking ticket and the large black SUV with the tinted windows was registered to him at the address on the license. Maybe my cop antenna had been wrong on this occasion, it certainly seemed like it. Giving orders that the patrol should check on the exterior of the house that night I signed out and went home wondering whether to tell Bella of the visitor. I didn't want to but I knew word would spread like wildfire in town and it would be better if I prepared her for it in person.

She was sitting at the dining table busy with homework but there was the smell of dinner cooking and I felt my stomach grumble in anticipation. I waited until she had cleared the table of her books and set my plate before me before breaking the news to her.

"I met a stranger today, at the Cullen place."

She stiffened but didn't say anything so I continued,

"Have you ever heard the Cullens mention a Peter Whitlock?"

She shook her head,

"No."

"He said he's a friend of Jasper Hale and that he was looking for him."

"He didn't know they'd left?"

"No, it would seem we weren't the only ones they omitted to tell of their departure. He said he's gonna be staying there a few days and he appears to have a key."

She didn't seem to want to talk about it so I shrugged,

"He doesn't have a record so it's none of my concern I guess."

She felt my scrutiny and looked at me with a wry smile,

"Don't worry dad, I'm not going to fall apart again, I don't know this Peter Whitlock and I have no wish to become acquainted with any friend of the Cullen's."

That put me slightly more at ease, I didn't want Bella becoming involved with anyone connected to that family.

 **Bella**

I felt physically sick when I heard that someone was staying at the Cullen house even though it was someone that I didn't know but it sounded like I wasn't the only one they had severed connections with not that I felt any better for knowing that.

That night my sleep was broken by dreams of Jasper and his family and when I finally woke up covered in sweat in the middle of the night I felt exhausted and depressed. I had hoped to put thoughts of them behind me but now the freshly healed wound had opened and bled once more.

I determined to stay away from the house and their friend but it was easier said than done. I couldn't stop thinking about the stranger who had suddenly appeared. He must be a vampire but was he an animal hunter like them or could the residents of Forks be in danger now? Charlie had said he was a friend of Jasper's and I knew from Edward that his brother had very few friends and none that lived as the Cullens did. So, knowing what I did should I go over and warn him that he wasn't safe so close to the Quileute lands if he intended hunting human prey. Maybe that would persuade him to leave and I could go back to pretending the Cullens had never existed. It was a noble reason to visit but not the true one. What I really wanted to know was why they had left so abruptly and where they were now.

Knowing Peter Whitlock was Jasper's friend would give me the opportunity to talk about him, find out a little more about the man I couldn't stop thinking about, dreaming about, and longed to see again. It hadn't been until they left that I understood it was Jasper I had been interested in not Edward, he had been a means to an end, however cold and calculating that might have been. It was Jasper's absence that continued to haunt me both day and night and now I had a chance to feel a little closer to him again and I wasn't about to pass it up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Peter**

Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. The local law was keeping a none too covert eye on me not that I was in the least bit concerned. I'd lived on the fringes of human civilization long enough to know how to blend in for I wanted to. The thing was, I didn't. I felt no more comfortable, no happier here than I had at the ranch. I was alone, I had no one, even The Major had disappeared without a word and I had been relying on him in my time of need. I'd always thought of myself as strong, tough, able to take anything this fucked up world could throw at me but I'd been wrong. Charlotte's desertion had wounded me deeply, a pain I wasn't sure I would ever recover from. I had been such a fool to believe she could ever have loved me. I had no idea who her mate was but I could pretty much guarantee that he would be suave and sophisticated, good looking and probably rich. It seemed to me women all looked for the same things in a man. I was everything they despised a coarse country boy and the biggest asshole in the world.

I spent my days wandering through the house, reading some of the books that the family had left behind and staring out at the forest thinking about Charlotte, my life and wondering what the fuck I was going to do with the rest of my life. I found myself drawn to The Major's room or the one he had shared with Alice Brandon. It seemed to me that it may once have been their room but it bore few signs that the Alice I had met ever called it home. It was a man's room, there were no frills, nothing fancy unlike the rooms shared by the other couples, Rosalie and Emmett or Carlisle and Esme. Intrigued a little I hunted through the rest of the rooms most of which had been turned into study's, music rooms etc but then I found a suite with en suite, huge closets and an extremely feminine air about it. The closets were almost empty but there was enough stuff left around to conclude this was Alice's domain, so maybe she and The Major had found they weren't mates either if so it was about time although I wondered if he suffered as much as I did at finding his world turned to ashes?

I needed to hunt, my thirst was becoming a living thing but I really had to force myself from the house. I knew hunting around here wasn't a good idea but I really couldn't be bothered to make the effort to run any distance but looking in the garage I spied The Major's Harley, it's keys hanging up in the cupboard along with those for a small compact and red sports car. Taking down the bike keys I checked the gas pleased to see it was almost full. Taking down his leathers I slipped them on and took off towards Seattle although I had no intentions of going that far.

When I got back after my meal I felt more despondent than ever. I hated coming home to an empty house, even one that had no happy associations for me. I had been a self-reliant devil may care guy before I was caught by Maria and even when I became a vampire I didn't feel I needed anyone to make my life complete. Then first The Major and later Charlotte had found a chink in my armour. I had thought both could be relied on, that I could trust them but now…...I knew I couldn't rely on the bitch Charlotte but The Major wasn't to know I would need him. He should have let me know he'd moved on, hell he should have told me he and Alice had broken up but time meant little to a vampire and I had the feeling it had been my turn to contact him. Either way, I was on my own and I hated it.

I spent the night listening to music from around the house. Edward's was crap, Esme's too saccharine for me, Carlisle's was so fucking old they must have been playing with bones on fucking boulders! Emmett was into synthesised shit which sounds liked cats being tortured and Rosalie….let's just say it wasn't what I called music. Eventually, I found some country and western and settled back in The Majors old leather recliner and closed my eyes. At least until I started to think of the past, of when I had thought my wife really loved me, before she dropped the atom bomb then I got up cursed and went down to the gym in the basement to punch out my pent up rage on Emmett's specially reinforced punch bag.

I couldn't just sit here hoping The Major might just happen to come back but where the fuck was I going? The ranch was on the market and everything I owned was in the trunk of my SUV apart from the horses, of course, I'd paid upfront for a years stabling at another ranch run by a guy I trusted to treat them well and exercise them regularly. I was young, free and single so why wasn't I punching the air and making plans? I just couldn't get out of this depression, I didn't want to think, to plan, I wasn't even sure I still wanted to live, eternity looked pretty fucking bleak from where I was standing.

 **Bella**

I spent the whole day at school thinking about the mystery visitor at the Cullens, who was he? Why had he come? And most important of all, was he still there? But then even if he was why would he want to talk to me and if he did…...he seemed to have no more idea than I did where the Cullens had gone. He might even be dangerous but maybe I could help with that and to be honest I really needed to speak to another vampire, just so I would know for sure that I hadn't dreamed it all because I had to admit that I was beginning to think I had dreamed the whole supernatural side of the family.

I guess I had more or less given up on the future. I had thought my future was bound up with Edward at first and put a lot into that relationship but slowly as I began to understand my own feelings I understood that maybe I had been wrong. I found myself thinking less of Edward and more of Jasper, especially after he had been so kind and understanding in Phoenix. I watched the others, the way they interacted and began to understand that I didn't want to be Edwards toy or his project. I wanted to be a partner in a relationship, like Rose with Emmett or Esme with Carlisle. Even when Alice and Jasper parted he treated her with dignity and thoughtfulness and she, in turn, showed him consideration. Edward wanted to protect and control me and I began to find that overwhelming and claustrophobic.

I think I had begun to imagine what it might be like if I were with Jasper rather than Edward. Whenever I was in his presence I felt an exciting longing, when he spoke to me or looked at me and I knew he felt it, I couldn't hide from his gift and I wasn't sure I wanted to but he never took advantage of his knowledge. I wasn't sure if he believed I was still in love with Edward or if he felt he would be betraying Edward if he took advantage of my feelings for him. Maybe he even thought he was feeling my emotions for his brother, I didn't know and now I never would but if he had felt anything for me then surely he would have come back, wouldn't he?

I stopped thinking about that, it was just too painful and I couldn't afford to torture myself. The memory of the dark days just after the Cullens left terrified me when I looked back and I knew it terrified my dad too. I couldn't fall back into that pit of misery but something told me that I couldn't stay away and miss the possibility of meeting the stranger and when classes finished at the end of the week I steeled myself to drive out to the house praying that Peter Whitlock would still be there and knowing if he wasn't then fate had decided my life would be vampire free from now on. I had given it a whole week so I couldn't be accused of rushing things.


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry everyone, I posted a rough copy of this chapter by mistake. Jules xx**

 **Chapter Four**

 **Peter**

I was seriously considering leaving Forks although I could see its attraction for a vampire. The sun was almost non-existent here, instead most days it was hidden from view by thick clouds which more often than not dropped enormous amounts of rain on already saturated ground. The number of days a vampire would be trapped inside could be counted on the fingers of one hand and still have some to spare!

The problem was that I had no idea where to go next and I didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to move. I had never unpacked my bags I just lived from day to day knowing that tomorrow and the next day and the one after that were going to be the same and my life stretched out in one unbroken line of depression and boredom through the centuries, death was beginning to look like a good alternative.

I heard a vehicle coming slowly down the drive and cussed, why didn't those fucking cops leave me alone. They drove up every fucking day and every day I would answer the door and try to stop myself from taking a bite out of the uniformed asshole who stood there asking the same fucking question, "Have I heard from the Cullens?" I dragged myself from the couch and went down the stairs to the front door but as I took hold of the doorknob I realized this didn't sound like the cruisers, I knew the sound of their engines by now, no, this was something else. I left the door and instead peered through the window at the side just as an old red truck came round the corner and halted at the bottom of the porch steps. I could see the driver and she was certainly no cop, for a start, she was too young, so why was she here?

As she climbed out of the cab I could see she was human, now I was curious, was she one of the Cullen's pet humans? Or was she just a nosy townsperson eager to see the mysterious squatter, well we'd soon see. She looked at the house apprehensively and then began to climb the steps slowly worrying at her lip, she was very nervous and when I opened the door she stopped like a deer caught in a car's headlights.

 **Bella**

The house looked just as it always had as if the door might open and Edward would be standing there or Esme smiling in welcome. I hesitated unsure this was a good idea even as I opened the truck door. I didn't see any other vehicles and wondered if the stranger had already left. Well, I would just try the door and if it was locked I would turn around and leave. Even if he was still here what did I expect to learn? Why had I even bothered coming here? I knew all it would do was to open wounds I had spent so long trying to heal.

I froze as the door opened fearing who it might be and was only able to breathe again when I didn't recognize the man standing there. The stranger was still here but now I was facing him I had no idea what to say.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?"

Although sounding sarcastic and bored in equal measure his voice made my mouth go dry and my heart speed up. He sounded so much like Jasper, the same low southern drawl and found myself unable to speak for an embarrassing few seconds.

"I…...I heard there was someone here. I knew the Cullens and I wondered if it might be them back."

"No, they're not."

He wasn't going to help me out and we stood to face each other in silence as I tried to think of something else to say.

"So?"

I was glad he had broken the terrible silence that stretched between us although I had no idea what to say. All I could glean from that single word was that he wanted me to go.

"Are they coming back?"

"Why?"

It was like pulling teeth!

"I….I dated Edward Cullen for a while."

His laughter was cold,

"Really? And here was I thinking you looked pretty normal."

"For a human you mean?"

That stopped his laughter in an instant and he stood staring at me.

" Do you have any idea how dangerous a game you are playing?"

"You mean standing here questioning a vampire? Yes, but I'm not afraid of you."

"Really? Then maybe you should be. I'm not like the Cullens. My diet is more normal for my kind."

"You mean you hunt humans? Let me tell you something vampire, there is nothing you could do to me that would hurt more than the pain they put me through so go ahead if you want my blood, take it."

 **Peter**

There was something about the way she said that…..she really was hurting, she didn't seem to care either way. How could a kid like this be so brave in the face of the danger she understood she was in? She sure sounded like she was bitter and angry but did she really mean to challenge me? We'd see. I stepped closer to her my eyes boring into hers looking for the slightest flicker of fear but she just stared back.

"So, brains and beauty. What made you so bitter at them?"

"Everything, the lies, the way they pretended to care and then just walked away without even a goodbye. Not that you'd understand."

"Oh really? You think you have the monopoly on bitterness and depression? It sounds to me like we both got shafted."

She stared at me for a few more seconds and then turned to leave and suddenly it was important to me that she didn't. I was depressed, so fucking lonely, and she knew what I was so I didn't have to pretend or worry I might give myself away, I could be me. I could talk to her and she might understand like no one else could. Besides, a human who wasn't scared of vampires? That had to be a first!

"Do you have to go right now?"

She stopped and turned back looking me long and hard,

"I should go, this place holds no happy memories for me and besides, Charlie will be expecting his dinner in a little while. So, if you don't plan on making me your dinner yes, I have to go."

She had guts I had to give her that and I was beginning to see what might have appealed to the Cullens, to Edward.

"Charlie?"

Had I been wrong? Was she older than I had thought?

"My dad, I understand you've met him."

The only people I had seen were local cops so…

"He's the Police Chief and I know he won't be happy if he finds out I'm here."

If she was as hurt and bereft as I was then I could understand anyone who cared about her not wanting her to reopen old wounds.

"OK, well maybe we could go for a walk or something if you have the time."

I sounded like a fool and cursed myself for sounding so fucking needy especially as she didn't look at all interested.

"Never mind, just go."

"So, you're staying on here?"

"For now."

What I didn't say was that she was the only person I had been interested in speaking to since Charlotte left.

She reached her truck then stopped,

"I work tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter."

I worked hard to sound disinterested and think I pulled it off.

"But I'm free Sunday. I could drive over then."

Well, well, it sounded like she might be interested in talking some more!

"OK, I'll see you then, unless you change your mind but you don't have to drive over here. I could meet you in town if you prefer."

She considered this for a moment then nodded,

"OK, Meet me outside Newton's store at two. I would say we could go for coffee but I guess that would be insensitive."

I actually managed a weak smile,

"I can do the human things I just usually choose not to."

She nodded and drove away and when she had gone from sight the despair crashed down on me again almost bringing me to my knees. The only thing that kept me from screaming and plunging headlong into the blackness was the thought that I would see her again and the crazy thing was that I didn't even know her name.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please check out the reposted Chapter 4 first please. Jules xx**

 **Chapter Five**

 **Peter**

I went back into the house still thinking about her and the effect her presence had on me. I really hoped she would be there on Sunday because if she stood me up I wasn't sure I could cope with the pain of further rejection. I knew her dad's name was Charlie and he was the Police Chief but that was it. Not only hadn't I got her name, I didn't even know where she lived but it wouldn't be difficult to find that out. I could go look for her place or I could just wait. Yeah, I could just sit here like a fucking dummy and wait, and go even crazier.

I ran into town, it was easier than taking one of the cars and quicker, then I strolled around looking for the battered red truck she had been driving. I heard a car pull up alongside me and turned to see the Police Chief himself looking out.

"So, you decided to stay with us awhile Mr Whitlock?"

"Yeah, it's a nice town."

"Have your friends been in contact?"

"Nope, not yet but I'm hopeful they will."

"Well, I'll be seeing you around."

"Yep."

He drove off slowly and I knew he was unnerved by my presence, he was a sensitive human and felt evil when he was in proximity to it. Deciding there was nothing I could do about that except keep a low profile I stared after him. He might be on his way home as I knew the station lay in the direction from which he had come so I decided to follow his cruiser.

It eventually pulled up outside a clapboard house and he ran up the steps and unlocked the door with a key so this was obviously his house. But where was the red truck? I pulled back into the shadows as it turned the corner and she got out with a huge pizza box in her hands and followed him in. I waited a little longer then set off back to the Cullen place feeling a little better than I had in a long while.

 **Bella**

As I drove back into town I realized I was feeling a little more upbeat than I had in a very long time. Just having some contact with another vampire gave me a feeling of relief. Maybe I hoped that Jasper or one of the others might contact Peter Whitlock but would I want to see them again? Could I take the pain if I did and they ignored me?

I worried that Peter might not be aware of the Quileutes and that the treaty they had signed with the Cullens would not include any other vampires that came to Forks. I should have warned him, what if they heard about him and went looking to kill him thinking he was a threat to their people or the people of Forks. I hesitated, should I turn around? Looking at my watch I realized if I didn't go home soon I would have to explain to my dad where I had been and I didn't want to do that. As it was I didn't have time to cook anything so I called in at the pizza place for a take out. Dad loved pizza and was unlikely to complain he wasn't getting home cooked food tonight.

When I pulled up outside the house I saw dad had beaten me home but as I got out of the truck I had the feeling I was being watched. I gazed around but couldn't see anyone and shrugged the feeling off as I went indoors. Dad was looking disappointed but cheered up when he saw the pizza box in my hand and grabbed napkins and plates from the cupboard while I poured us soda's and dished up slices.

After a second huge slice, he slowed down and took a sip of his drink.

"I ran into that Whitlock guy again today. It appears he's staying on at the Cullen house for a little while."

"Really? When?"

I tried not to sound interested and thought I'd succeeded when he didn't look up from his plate.

"I was on my way home tonight. I still have a funny feeling about him Bella so you steer clear of the Cullen place."

I nodded glad I had arranged to meet Peter in town rather than at the house on Sunday. Of course, we would be spotted when we met, you couldn't do anything in this town without being seen and dad would soon hear the news but I thought I might be able to get away with telling him that we just bumped into each other.

Work the next day dragged, Mike and I were alone in the store and of course he knew that there was someone at the Cullen's house and thought I might know something about this stranger.

"Is he related to the Cullens?"

"I don't know, I don't think so. I haven't seen him. Dad told me about him."

"Right, I just thought the Cullens might be coming back."

He was watching me to see my reaction, all my friends had seen me fall apart when Edward left and I knew Mike was worried about what would happen if they came back.

"I haven't heard anything Mike but I doubt they'll be back."

I just wanted him to stop asking questions and I think he saw that and changed the subject.

"Are you coming to the beach next weekend? We're having a party there if it's raining Eric's parents offered the use of their tent."

"I don't know Mike, maybe."

"Come on Bella, you should get out, it'll do you good."

I smiled knowing he was only trying to help,

"Maybe, we'll see."

By the time the store closed I was exhausted, Mike's dad had called in at lunchtime and as business was slow he asked us to clear out the old stock room which hadn't been touched for what looked like years. Once home I soaked in the tub glad Charlie wasn't due home until late. It gave me time to prepare a fish pie and salad and then put my feet up for an hour listening to music but mainly thinking about Peter and how desolate he had appeared, an emotion I could relate to only too well.

When Charlie got home he looked exhausted,

"We lost a hiker today, it was a real mess. Why do they insist on going out alone without even a cell phone to call for help? He went over the edge of a small ravine and broke his leg. That didn't kill him but it brought the wildlife out to check the scent of blood. Must have been a mountain lion although it's a little unusual that far down the mountain. He appeared to have bled to death anyway, ruptured a major blood vessel."

I made Charlie some supper and left him to his thoughts, he hated to lose, even to an animal but I was more concerned about what had actually killed him. Had it been a lion? Or had Peter been out in the forest and come across the hiker? Had Peter killed him and made it look like a lion kill? Had he come across the injured hiker and been unable to control his thirst? I would have to find out because if he was hunting this close to Forks he was likely to find himself wolf chow!

As I turned out my light it occurred to me that I wasn't afraid of Peter. He was a vampire, yes, and one that openly admitted to hunting humans but somehow I didn't think he would attack me. There was something in his manner, a longing for companionship and finding me, a human who wasn't afraid of him maybe he would prefer my company to my blood. There was a story behind his trip here and I was curious to know it. I might even see what he could tell me about Jasper although even thinking of him sent a stab of pain through my chest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **Bella**

Charlie went fishing today so I didn't have to make any excuse to him when I left to meet Peter. I was half convinced that he wouldn't turn up but when I pulled in outside the store he was there looking in the window as if interested in the hiking equipment on display. He turned as I opened my door and walked slowly over.

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

"Neither was I, get in."

He climbed in the passenger seat and I drove out of town to the diner on the main road between Forks and Port Angeles, gratefully one Charlie never frequented!

"Are you sure about this?"

He hadn't spoken since joining me and now he just nodded getting out and waiting for me on the sidewalk.

I had to smile as he opened the door and stood back for me to enter first, he may be reserved but he had the same impeccable manners as the Cullen men. Finding a booth at the back of the place away from the other customers and there weren't many on this Sunday afternoon we sat down and I ordered coffee and danish from both of us.

He was studying me again and I wondered what he was thinking but neither of us spoke until the server had brought our order and walked away.

"Peter, there's something I have to ask you."

"Oh?"

He wasn't going to be any easier to talk to than the first time but I went on.

"A hiker was killed in the forest yesterday and….."

"You were a wondering if I was responsible? No, I wasn't, credit me with a little more common sense, please. In return I have a question for you, what's your name?"

I was embarrassed that I hadn't introduced myself before.

"Sorry, it's Isabella Swan but my friends call me Bella."

He nodded staring down at his coffee now.

"It's miserable isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Being alone. I guess you've been dumped unceremoniously just like me."

He looked up again and I saw his jaw was tight with tension.

"I'm sorry, I guess that was insensitive, it just seemed you were as depressed as me."

"Yea, I guess I am Isabella. It was brave of you to ask if I killed the hiker. What would ya have done if I'd said yes?"

"Warn you that it's not safe to hunt here. The Quileutes are a guardian tribe and they still phase as far as I know. The proximity of the Cullens triggered it."

 **Peter**

Isabella was an unusual human, she had guts and I admired that. She wasn't afraid to spend time in my presence and suddenly I didn't feel so lonely any longer.

"I've heard of the guardian tribes although I've never been formally introduced to any. Might be interesting."

"No, it's dangerous, there are too many of them."

She sounded concerned for me, now that was a novelty!

"I don't scare easy you know."

"Neither did Carlisle or Jasper but they acknowledged the danger the Quileute wolves presented."

"The Major? I doubt he was afraid of any wolves."

"I didn't say he was scared, just that he acknowledged the danger. I guess you know him well."

She was curious and I was happy to talk if it meant keeping her here with me for a while so I told her how we met and what he did for me, well me and Charlotte.

"He sounds like a good friend so I guess when you needed someone it was him you would look to for support. It must have been a shock to find he'd left. What happened to Charlotte?"

Hearing her name on other lips hurt but I pushed it away to answer her,

"She found someone better."

"Oh, I'm sorry, that must have been hard on you after being together for so long."

"It reminded me that you can't rely on anyone except yourself."

She smiled and put her hand over mine. It felt warm and soft and I could feel the blood rushing through her veins but I didn't feel any thirst, well no increase in my thirst.

"Doesn't it bother you? Touching the hand of a killer Isabella?"

"You kill to eat, the same as I do. The only difference is the prey. Do you want to kill me?"

"I have the distinct impression that you wouldn't care much if I said yes."

"My life isn't worth much to me since they left."

"You mean since Edward left don't you?"

She stared out the window and bit her lip and I could tell she was deciding whether to lie to me, then she shook her head.

"I could say yes and for a time it was the truth but now….now I don't know. My feelings are really screwed up Peter."

I laughed,

"Join the club, just when you think you understand the world, your world, something happens to turn it upside down."

We sat there for over an hour talking, about something and nothing but both understanding that the other's presence was helping us. She was interested in my human life, my life with Maria and The Major, even my life since leaving Mexico but I got the distinct impression that she was most interested in whatever I said about my friend and that had me wondering.

 **Bella**

I didn't want to leave, to say goodbye to Peter but I thought he must be getting bored with my grilling so I asked for the bill but he took it from me wrapping his danish in a napkin and handing it to me.

"You look like you could do with fattening up a little so take this to have with coffee later. I'll get the bill."

The server, a young woman who blushed far too easily, rather like me, had taken a shine to Peter and tried to start a conversation with him but he didn't seem to notice, it was as of no one meant much to him and I wondered how much of his attitude was due to Charlotte leaving him, to finding himself alone, without the person who meant the most to him. I could relate to that too although I was beginning to think it wasn't Edward I was missing but his more reserved brother, Peter's best friend, Jasper Hale.

"Would you like me to drive you back to the house?"

He shook his head,

"No, anywhere will do. I guess you have things to do."

"Actually no, not until my mom rings at 6, if I'm not there to take her call I will be in for a roasting but we have hours yet. I just thought you might be bored with my company, I've been grilling you for the past couple of hours and you must be tired of answering."

He hesitated before answering and I found myself praying he wouldn't agree,

"Actually, it's been good to have someone to talk to. I've been on my own too long and that gets depressing. Besides, being a vampire I don't get to interact with humans often, not the sort of interaction where they keep breathing!"

I laughed and felt the weight lift a little from my shoulders.

"Would you like to come back with me? We can chat some more or just listen to music. My dad won't be home."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? I ain't sure he likes me much so maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for him to find me with you in his own house."

"Charlie is wary of all strangers, he'll get used to you. Besides, you are my guest and if he sees that I'm happier he will be too. I was pretty bad after they left."

I still found it hard to say the name Cullen without wincing.

"Two birds with broken wings eh? OK, as long as it won't get you in trouble. Truth be told I don't really want to be alone. It gives me too much time to think."

"I know what you mean."

He spent another hour with me, again talking about life when he was human and I wondered what it must be like to outlive everyone you loved and having no one who loved or cared about you any more. It was a side of being a vampire I had never considered. The difference with Peter was that he didn't belong to a family however false it might be, like the Cullens. He was really alone now his wife had left and then he found his only friend had vanished too. It made me grateful I had both my parents and friends even if I felt I had little in common with them these days.

When he finally left we arranged to meet again in the week. I gave him my cell phone number and told him I was free most evenings.

"We can go to the diner or you could come here. I'll break the ice with Charlie."

He nodded looking a little unsure of that and refused my offer of a lift home but shook my hand.

"Thank you, Isabella, for today."

I made a face,

"Like I said my friends call me Bella."

His smile totally transformed him and I could see just how handsome he really was under that perpetual scowl he wore.

"OK, See ya during the week Bella."

Then he was gone and I went back into the house to prepare a supper for Charlie who would be starving unless he and Harry had cooked the fish they caught over a campfire.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **Carlisle**

We were becoming increasingly worried about Jasper who had changed since we left Forks. He had become morose at first driving Alice away with his coldness despite her efforts to connect with him. Eventually, she could take no more and asked me to talk to him. I wasn't sure he would listen to me but I promised to try. Unfortunately, as I had feared he wasn't interested in anything I had to say, I began to doubt he even understood the reason for his change of attitude.

Alice left choosing to stay with Carmen and Eleazar rather than stay and be ignored by her long time love. I did ask her if she had seen this change but she hadn't.

"It's funny Carlisle, Jasper asked me more or less the same question. He wanted to know what I saw in his future."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Nothing, I couldn't see anything in his future, it was dark and that scared me."

"How did he react to that?"

"He just shrugged as if it didn't matter."

"Do you think it might have something to do with Bella? The way we left Forks?"

She had shrugged her shoulders looking hurt and very vulnerable.

"Does it matter? I think we burned our bridges there, besides, I never saw anything before we went there or while we were there."

"True, but as you said yourself you couldn't see Bella's future or anyone connected to her."

"Promise me you won't give up on him Carlisle, you're stronger than me and he needs someone."

I had given her that promise but now I was about to break it. Jasper was becoming a danger to all those I loved and his behavior was becoming more erratic as was his temper. He had argued with almost everyone at one time or another since he and Alice joined the family but he had never been cruel, violent, or hurtful to Rosalie yet just yesterday he had come close to hitting her as he shouted horrible things when she tried to talk to him and I had seen the hurt in her eyes as eventually he and Emmett had almost come to blows. I could no longer stand by while he destroyed the family Esme and I had worked so hard to build.

 **Jasper**

I was sick of being watched and criticized for everything I did. The whole family thought they were better than me, watching with smug expressions on their faces as I forced animal blood down my throat and asking why I was so angry and depressed. Did they really have no idea? Were they so wrapped up in themselves they didn't see what we had done sneaking away from Forks like mangy dogs? Where was their pride?

Of course, I couldn't explain the main reason I was feeling so frustrated and angry, they'd probably just laugh! The first time I had seen Bella I had thought she was the most beautiful creature I had ever encountered but she was Edward's girlfriend and I was involved with Alice. I know she felt something that day in the Phoenix hotel room but she ran straight back into Edward's arms when he appeared and I knew she would never be mine. Leaving Forks was hard, why would Edward turn his back on the girl he loved? He said it was to keep her safe and everyone else seemed happy enough with that explanation but not me. Bella was a girl who attracted danger and would be far better off with us around her, people who could keep her safe. Instead, he chose to creep away and we went with him. When he made us all promise to stay away from Bella and Forks I argued but was overridden by the rest of the family so they should understand why I was so angry with them, they refused to see sense, instead blindly following Edward's orders as if he were the head of the family.

I felt myself changing, I knew I was more impatient, less willing to listen to people when what they were talking was sheer crap. My temper began to flare up once more and I felt more like The Major than Jasper Hale. He wouldn't have allowed himself to be dictated to if he thought the orders were wrong. He wouldn't bow down to a set of stupid rules just to please an idiot, or in this case, several idiots, Carlisle who I had once thought so knowledgeable had turned out to be as stupid as his "son" and the others weren't much better.

I knew what Carlisle wanted when he asked me to join him in his study but I went along anyway followed by the eyes of everyone else in the room. I knew they all feared me now but there was a tinge of sorrow in the air too. Did they think I was going to beg to be allowed to stay? Was I going to fall to my knees and promise to be a good boy if they would allow me to stay? If they did then they were in for a big disappointment.

I didn't bother with the chair Carlisle indicated and smiled to feel his trepidation.

"Let me save you from all the bull shit you are about to spout. I'm going so you don't need to ask me to leave."

"Jasper, if only you would talk to someone I'm sure we could help you."

"Save your breath."

"Son please, this isn't you. You're better than this."

I shook my head smiling,

"Actually this is the real me. I'm sick of pretending otherwise and I'm sick and tired of following Edwards directions."

"You are becoming a danger to yourself and everyone around you son."

"I am not your son and this fake family you've built up is all smoke and mirrors, Carlisle. One of these days it will come crashing down around your ears, my only regret is that I won't be around to see it. Oh yes, by the way, don't give me any shit about living among the humans and fitting in, not after what you did to Bella and the people of Forks. A doctor wouldn't just walk out on patients who need him and a family that cared about someone wouldn't just drop them without a single word of explanation. You live in a glass house Carlisle and one day it's gonna shatter into a million pieces just remember that. You aren't God Almighty and this isn't a perfect life you have."

I didn't bother to wait for whatever crap he was going to try next I just opened the door and walked out slamming it shut behind me with enough force to split the wood and bend the brass hinges. I was out of here!

 **Carlisle**

I hadn't thought I was going to get through to Jasper, I knew I'd lost him but I hadn't expected such hatred and rage from him. Esme would be heartbroken, she was worried he wouldn't be able to survive without our help and it wouldn't be easy for her to let go. The only person who would be celebrating was Edward. He and Jasper had never gotten along, I think envy was Edward's reason, he thought he was intellectually superior but he didn't have Jasper's charisma and fighting skills and was jealous as a result.

Personally, I felt a failure. I had never failed with any of the family but I had been unable to supply what Jasper needed most, a leader he could look up to. It was true that I allowed Edward's wants and needs to influence my decisions and Jasper was not the only one to see that or resent it but my first born was my Achilles heel although I had tried to distance myself. To an extent, I managed that, I would have lost Esme if I had been unable to but I had much further to go. Perhaps Jasper had given me a wake-up call but too late for him. I could only hope he would find peace with someone, somewhere in this world.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 **Charlie**

Bella seemed different, she had been so quiet, so sad, even though she was one hundred times better than she had been. Ever since the Cullens had pulled their disappearing act she had been different. It really had been a shock and I felt her pain but I tried to be there for her. Both Renee and I had been really worried that she might need counselling but slowly she had dragged herself back to life but she wasn't the same person, this Bella was even quieter and more reserved.

Something had changed recently, though. For the past week I had seen flashes of the old Bella, she even smiled a little more. When I told Deb's my dispatcher she smiled knowingly and I realized I had obviously missed something.

"OK, tell me."

"I don't want to drop Bella in it or anything but I've seen her twice this week talking to that guy who's staying at the Cullen house."

"Right."

"She looked more light-hearted, you must be pleased Charlie."

I nodded, she was right I was pleased but I was a little concerned too. Would she lapse back into depression when Whitlock left? After all, he wasn't here permanently. I decided I should let her know I was aware of her friendship with Peter Whitlock, I didn't like the idea she had kept this from me, or was I just being oversensitive? After all, it wasn't as if she were dating the guy was it?

 **Bella**

I had seen Peter after school every day although it hadn't been planned, I think we both felt a need for friendship, one that didn't mean keeping secrets and when he was waiting along the road from school on Monday we went back to the diner although I couldn't stay too long, I had dinner to cook and homework to get done. Tuesday he was there again and by Wednesday it was becoming a regular thing. No one had seen us together as far as I knew but word would soon get around so I decided to tell Charlie before one of his friends did.

On Thursday I got home early explaining to a disappointed Peter that I had so much work I didn't want to get behind and made Charlie his favorite, pot roast and cherry pie. I could tell he knew by the look on his face as he sat down at the table and decided to get in first. I think he was pleased I was telling him but worried that I was becoming close to Peter just because he had a connection with the Cullens.

"Would you mind if I invited him here on Saturday?"

"Sure, I'd like to meet him in less formal circumstances but aren't you going to the beach with Mike?"

I blushed a little,

"Actually I was going to ask Peter if he'd like to go. Mike asked Jessica after I turned him down. She's been desperate for him to notice her romantically."

"Right, well as long as you haven't just dumped him. You can't afford to upset your friends."

That had gone better than I could have hoped, now I had to explain to Peter that I wanted him to go to the beach with me on Saturday after meeting Charlie properly. I really hoped he would agree, I thought meeting people, even humans, would do him good.

I was worried when he wasn't there on Thursday, the first time he hadn't been waiting for me. Had he left without telling me? No, that would be too cruel. I found myself tensing up, how could he do this to me after I had told him just how terribly it had affected me when the Cullens left without a word. I was furious and drove straight out to the Cullen house sure I would find it deserted. I was correct, there was no sign of Peter, the place was locked up and his SUV was gone. I felt tears began to fall and wiped them away angry with myself for trusting him in the first place. Why should he, a friend of those who had abandoned me before, be any different?

Eventually, I pulled myself together enough to start back home only to find Peter's SUV parked outside. He climbed out slowly then seeming to sense my mood moved quickly over to my truck. He wrenched the door open and peered into my face.

"Bella? What's wrong? When I missed you at school I drove straight over here."

"You were at the school?"

"Yeah, I was just a little late, I had an errand to run, why?"

Then understanding dawned,

"You thought I'd bailed on you, didn't you?"

I nodded and felt the tears scald my red cheeks.

 **Peter**

I hadn't thought much about the fact I was a little late meeting Bella. I guess I hadn't understood how important my presence was to her. All the time I had been thinking how she was my lifesaver and hadn't given any thought to how she felt about me. Sensitivity had never been one of my strong points but I tried to apologize as she pulled herself together.

"Maybe I should go."

I felt embarrassed, I wasn't good with tears either!

"No, don't go. I'm sorry Peter. I thought…. Well, I kept thinking about the way they left and I guess I thought you'd done the same."

"Hey, don't lump me together with the Cullens, I am nothing like them but I do understand how it might have appeared. I guess we've both pretty fucked u...I mean sensitive after finding out our friends aren't bothered about us but I am sorry if I upset you. Depression really sucks. You know I always thought I was self-sufficient, that I didn't need anyone but it's easy to fool yourself into thinking that when there are people around you that you think care about you. It's only when you find yourself truly alone you realize just how bad it sucks. I'll make you a promise Bella, I will never leave you without saying goodbye."

I put an arm awkwardly around her and she smiled wiping her eyes.

"Thank you, Peter, for being so understanding and for the promise. In turn, I promise not to leave without saying goodbye first either. And now we've sorted that I admit I have a favor to ask you."

"Right, well now's a good time, I'm feeling guilty so you might just get the answer you want."

I listened as she explained about the beach party and her idea for me to meet her father officially. My initial reaction was to demur but I could see it meant a lot to her and the thought of the alternative, sitting alone at the house, was enough to make me agree.

"Thank you. I know some of my friends will be curious but I'll just say you're a friend of the family."

Meeting her father wasn't without its awkward silences. He didn't particularly like or trust me but I think he understood my presence was helping Bella so he did his best to be civil. When Bella ran upstairs to grab her jacket he had a few quiet words with me.

"I don't know how long you plan on staying or quite what your relationship is with my daughter but if you hurt her in any way I will hunt you down and beat the crap out of you. Understand?"

I nodded,

"Understood but Chief Swan, Bella is helping me as much if not more than you seem to think I am helping her and my intentions are entirely honorable."

"I'm pleased to hear it but I'll be watching you and I have eyes and ears all over Forks."

I understood him and I actually admired him for his interest in his daughter's welfare but I was the last person he should be worrying about ironically enough. I could keep her safer than anyone else, including him!

I drove us out to the beach pleased that the one chosen hadn't been on Quileute land. I knew all about the treaty now and wouldn't have wanted to start trouble, not while I was finding Forks a place I felt better about myself. Bella chatted away and I understood she was nervous, not about appearing with me but of how she would explain us being together.

"Bella, how about you tell your friends you and I are…...seeing each other. Nothing heavy, just good friends for now. That way they won't keep asking stupid or embarrassing questions and we can be together without pretending to be all romantic."

She sighed with relief,

"Would you mind? I just know there will be a million questions. Everyone has been watching me since the breakup and…...well, it would be easier."

"Let's just tell them I was a friend of The Major's and you offered to show me around since he wasn't here. Sound OK?"

"OK, but let's remember they know him as Jasper hale. If they hear you calling him The Major it would generate even more questions."

"I'll try to remember that now come on, loosen up, you're supposed to be having fun."

As I walked round to open her door I felt all eyes turn to us but Bella merely smiled and took my arm, she was going to enjoy this afternoon after all.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine**_

 _ **Bella**_

There was a lot of whispering and pointing as Peter and I joined the party on the beach and I knew everyone was wondering just who the guy with me was. Jessica and Angela had seen him once as he waited for me when I left school but neither had wanted to be the first to ask me about him and by the time Angela finally broke down all she had time for was a hurried, "Who's the dreamy looking guy Bella?" just before the last class of the day yesterday and I hadn't had time to explain properly. All she knew was that he was a friend of Jasper Hale's who had come to stay at the Cullen place for a while. I could see she thought I was mad getting tied up with anyone from that family and I think under any other circumstances she would have been right. On this occasion, I thought we were each other's life preservers although I wouldn't admit as much to her.

Peter found a sheltered spot for me, there was a cold sea breeze but it was bright and thankfully not sunny and spread out the blanket I had stowed in the trunk along with the picnic, everyone supplied some eats and then shared it. There was some beer floating around but I stuck to sodas.

Eric and Tyler supplied the entertainment, a CD player connected to a couple of Bluetooth speakers with colored lights that would be great once the sun went down. It took a while before anyone approached us but once the ice was broken we were included as a part of a larger group. The girls couldn't take their eyes off Peter, he was attractive sure in a bad boy way and I wasn't sure if it was his vampire magnetism or just the fact we females tend to be attracted to the dangerous guys. Personally, I found Peter a comfort although I had no romantic feelings towards him. He was a link with the past, with the one member of the Cullen family who I found still disturbed my dreams, Jasper. Peter had told me more about his friend and I understood better why he seemed so aloof but made me feel safe. According to Peter if you were in a tight spot his friend was the one person you wanted at your side.

I had expected Peter to sit back and watch the humans at play but as always he surprised me by talking with the guys about cars and camping in the mountains, he did fit in when he chose to, just as he had said. I knew this situation was only temporary, one day Peter would decide he had waited long enough and then he too would leave Forks but at least I had his promise that he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Then what would I do? If they didn't come back and he left I would be all alone once more. Suddenly I understood something, my utter desolation when the Cullens had abandoned me was nothing to do with Edward although I along with everyone else had thought so. No, my depression was sparked by the thought that I meant nothing to them after all they had said and done. I laughed to myself, why should I, a mere human, expect a vampire or vampires to care about me and my feelings? I was a fool to be taken in by them. Was I being a fool again? I glanced at Peter who was watching me carefully. He hadn't said anything about having a gift like Edward but then why should he? It gave him an edge over me. Yet I trusted him, he had always been honest with me and decided it was just my mood that he had caught traces of.

"Do you want to go? Or me to go? You look sad."

I shook my head and took his cool hand in mine, another reminder of those who had abandoned me.

"No, just melancholy thoughts. I'm fine and I'm really glad you came."

He seemed relieved by my words and tugged me to my feet,

"Come on, might as well enjoy ourselves."

I tried to hold back when I saw where he was headed, some people were dancing on the sand.

"No, Peter, I can't dance."

He grinned,

"Then I'll teach you, come on, live a little Bella."

When he dropped me off at the end of the evening he escorted me to the door and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you, Bella."

"For what? Treading on your toes when you tried to teach me the jive?"

Peter's blinding smile reminded me again of the young man he had once been, like Jasper.

"For reminding me that life can be fun. It's been a long time since I really enjoyed myself. Eternity can seem fuc….really long when you forget to have fun. Well, I'd better go before your dad comes to see what's keeping you. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course, come over whenever you want."

"Now that's a dangerous invitation to give a guy who never sleeps! I'll see you after lunch tomorrow, I ain't wantin' to alienate your dad and I know he likes his Sunday lunch with you when he's not on duty."

Dad was asleep on the couch but roused when he heard the door close.

"Did you have a good time?"

What he really meant was did Peter behave himself but I chose to ignore that.

"Yes, it was fun. Peter tried to teach me how to jive."

Charlie coughed down a laugh,

"He's a more courageous man than me, did you break any bones?"

I twirled around almost stumbling into the dresser,

"See, no bandages."

"I meant Peter not you."

"No!"

He was still chuckling as I went upstairs to bed, tired but relaxed. I had smiled more this evening than I had since the Cullens left and it felt good.

I noticed that my memories of Edward and his family didn't hurt so much now and knew I had Peter to thank for that. The one face that wasn't beginning to fade at the edges was Jasper but then that was understandable, he was after all Peter's best friend. I wondered where he was, still with the rest of the family? Now, what made me think that? Why would he not be with them any longer? They were his family and Alice was his wife in all but name. Mrs Jasper Hale, that hurt. His face became more solid the longer I spent with Peter and I thought about asking him if he had any idea why that should be but I didn't need to, I already knew. I hadn't been hurt so much by the family, Edward leaving had actually been a relief in many ways. It had been the knowledge I would never see the softly spoken Texan again. What a fool I was, falling for a man already spoken for, and a vampire to boot!

 **Peter**

I was tempted to park up near the Swan place, I felt more optimistic when I was near Bella. There was nothing romantic between the two of us but she was like sunshine, illuminating the darkness my life had become since Charlotte left me. I did wonder if perhaps, under different circumstances, Bella and I might have made a good team but I knew I was too late, her heart had already been captured and not by Edward Cullen. She didn't realize yet, or she wasn't ready to admit it but Bella had fallen for my friend. Whenever his name was mentioned she became more animated, and her eyes sparkled. I wondered if that was what had drawn me to Forks. I should have known The Major wasn't here well before I arrived but I still came. He couldn't have acknowledged what she meant to him or he wouldn't have left with the others. So, what had happened? I could only hazard a guess, his integrity had stopped him from seeing what Bella really meant to him. Edward had already laid claim to her and she was in a relationship with the asshole. I don't think I could have stepped aside, I'd have punched his lights out and taken what was mine but he was different and Bella was a human so who knows whether it would have lasted. They didn't seem to feel their mates like vampires did but Bella was far too intelligent to have stayed with Eddie boy! Sooner or later Bella would ask me to trace The Major and I wanted to be able to tell her where he was when she asked so I would start the search now, it would give me something to keep me occupied until I saw Bella next.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 **Jasper**

I wandered from place to place but I couldn't outrun the feelings of frustration and anger, they just seemed to get more intense. I knew a part of this was guilt at the way I had left Forks. To treat Bella that way after she had accepted us like no one else ever had, to welcome her into the family and then just walk away without a word of explanation was indefensible. Edward may have decided it was safer but he was a fool and I had known that. I should have stood up and refused to act in such a way, even Rosalie and Emmett had voiced their condemnation of such an action but I had kept silent. Part of that was relief that Edward would no longer be in Bella's life but that was no excuse. I had been a coward and a fool and now I was paying for it.

I had driven the others away, even Rosalie who had only ever shown me kindness and acceptance. I hated myself and projected those feelings onto those who loved me. Or was I really the monster Maria had told me I was? Was The Major sneaking back, taking control of my thoughts again? I didn't know what to do or who to believe, there was in fact only one thing I was still sure of, I needed to see Bella, to apologize and hope she would not only forgive me but also see what she meant to me. It might already be too late, she could have fallen in love with a human, Mike or Eric, even Tyler maybe, and to see that would destroy my dreams and ruin my future but if I stayed away how could I ever hope to win her affection? I had to go back, Edward be damned.

 **Bella**

Peter became a permanent fixture in my life, he was like the older brother I had never had, always there ready to cheer me up when I was down, to protect me and be someone to talk to who would not judge me however crazy or stupid I might seem. With him around I no longer felt there was such a hole in my life, I could cope again although I still missed one person and there again Peter made things easier. He would tell me stories about his time with Jasper and at such times it was as if I could feel his presence. There was a lot Peter didn't talk about, I knew their shared history had been in part bleak and bloody, Edward had made sure of that but neither did he hide things from me. If I asked he would answer me truthfully, he had both promised and warned me of that. Peter was nothing like the Cullens, he didn't try to mother me, he didn't see me as a weakling who needed a babysitter but he cared, much more than they had ever done in so many ways.

When he wasn't around when he went off to hunt, I missed him and I knew I was moody and difficult at such times so I tended to go off on my own with a book and find a quiet spot in the trees opposite the house if the weather allowed.

I knew the wolves were upset that I had a new vampire companion, Jacob had passed on a message from Sam, the pack Alpha,

"If you insist on continuing your fraternization with the leeches we wash our hands of you."

That didn't bother me, they were almost as paranoid about my safety as the Cullens had been. Since ignoring the warning I no longer sensed the wolves watching the house or eyes on me as I went about my life and the sense of freedom this afforded me was exhilarating.

What I should have remembered was that James may be dead but he had not been alone. I had forgotten about the red haired Victoria and the ambivalent Laurent, his two travelling companions. To have forgotten them was both stupid and dangerous but I had no idea they might come looking for revenge after all this time.

I had been sitting for an hour reading The Great Gatsby in preparation for a paper we had been set yesterday in English when I became uneasy. Putting the book down I looked around but I appeared to be alone. It was very quiet out here…..yes too quiet, I couldn't even hear a bird singing, something had frightened them off. Deciding the best thing to do was to go home as quickly as I could I put my book back in the backpack I had brought with me and slung it over my shoulder then turned to retrace my steps. I hadn't even reached the edge of the clearing when there was a movement before me and I gasped as I recognized Laurent standing there smiling at me.

"Bella! All alone? Where are your bodyguards?"

I thought quickly if he thought they were close by I might still be safe.

"Edward is meeting me soon."

"Really? I saw no signs of life at the house as I passed and I heard a rumor that they had become bored with their pet and left you behind."

"Well, you heard wrong."

His expression told me that he didn't believe me and I felt my heart racing.

"What a pity, they kill our leader and leave you to take the punishment, hardly the actions of a lover. but then I thought Edward was wrong for you. Does it still hurt? Being abandoned I mean. Maybe I can help, put you out of your misery and avenge James' murder in one action. I promise it will be quick, I never approved of James' habit of playing with his food and better that I kill you than Victoria, she can be so vindictive."

I took a couple of steps backwards but knew it was futile to try to escape, I couldn't outrun a vampire nor could I fight one, so I stopped.

"I didn't kill James, it was his own fault for coming after me."

What was the point of this? I couldn't talk him out of killing me that much was obvious. It was so unfair, if he had found me just a few months ago I would have been glad of his threat, but now…..I wanted to live!

He moved so swiftly that he had my face between his hands before I could blink.

"You smell divine. Don't fight me, Bella, relax and it will be over in a second."

He opened his mouth and I closed my eyes tensing instinctively waiting for the sharp pain as his teeth sliced into the soft flesh of my neck.

Suddenly I found myself flying through the air to land on my back hard enough to knock all the breath out of my body. I could hear snarls and the sound of blows then silence. Had Victoria followed Laurent? Was she determined to take revenge personally for her mate's death? I tried to take in enough air to enable me to move, or scream, not that either would help me much but then strong arms lifted me from the ground and I found myself gazing into a familiar face,

"Peter? Thank God, I thought I was dead."

"I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I? Who was he?"

I turned to look at the pile of still smoking ash,

"Laurent, remember me telling you about James? That was one of his group."

Peter looked around,

"What about the redhead?"

I shrugged,

"I don't think they were together thank goodness."

He grinned,

"Don't you think I could have taken them both? Shame on you Bella. Now come on, let's get you home before any more old acquaintances show up."

My legs were still shaking and he scooped me up and ran, as a result, we were back in the house in seconds but I didn't breath again until the door was closed and only then because Peter was here, my savior!


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven**_

 _ **Bella**_

It took me some time to calm down and I was positive if not for Peter's sudden and rapid appearance I would now be dead.

"How….How did you know? You told me you would be away until tomorrow although I'm not complaining. Thank you."

He smiled handing me a mug of very dark looking coffee.

"You are more than welcome, glad I could have been of some assistance ma'am."

There was that voice again, the slow Texan drawl that made me think of Jasper which in turn had my heart thumping loudly in my chest.

"I guess I should probably have told you earlier but now's as good a time as ever. Like some of the Cullens I have a gift, a kind of sixth sense really. When someone I care about is in danger I can sense it. I was feeling a little uneasy when I left you but I really needed to hunt so I decided not to go as far as I would have normally and keep my feeling under review."

She looked alarmed at this and I hastened to reassure her.

"Whoa there, I didn't feed on the good people of Forks, I remembered my promise to you. Then I got the feeling that you were in danger and I started to run. Looks like I only just made it in time."

I nodded and put the mug down before I spilt the thick black liquid on the floor, my hands were trembling so much.

"So you have an inbuilt early warning system? That's neat."

"I have to admit it comes in handy sometimes although the only warnings I've ever had concerned either Charlotte or The Major and now it seems you've joined the select group. The trouble is that I'm still feeling uneasy. So, is it you in danger or…."

Now I was worried even more,

"You think Jasper might be in trouble? Where? How?"

I knew I was overreacting but I couldn't help it, then I saw Peter's grin,

"What's so funny? You said you only get these feelings about certain people and that means Jasper might be in danger."

"Nothing, I guess it just justifies my own suspicion that you and The Major are mates, you wouldn't be wound so tight otherwise.

"Mates? You mean…"

"Yeah, I mean…... Admit it, you miss him, not Edward Cullen, and you're feeling unsettled. You probably even feel you want to be on the move."

I didn't answer, he was getting way too close to the truth and it made me feel even worse.

"See! I'm right ain't I?"

I didn't answer him, that knowing grin on his face embarrassed me too much to want to talk about it further.

Peter

I was glad Bella had acknowledged I was right about her relationship with my friend, it made things far easier although how I was supposed to get her to him in one piece with at least one unknown vampire stalking her and with no idea where he was proved to be puzzling. Especially as I had this nasty feeling he might be headed towards danger himself.

The excuse Bella gave her dad for leaving Forks was accepted readily enough, she never lied to him so why should he be suspicious now? She told him she was going to visit her mom in Jacksonville. Of course, if he found her out in this, her first lie, things could go west pretty quickly. He was a cop and he still didn't entirely approve of me. I could see my sorry butt being thrown in jail if I wasn't careful!

Bella

I hated having to quiz Peter about my feelings for Jasper but he was the only vampire around.

"Peter, if Jasper really is my mate what does it mean for me? For my future I mean? I wanted to become a vampire when I believed Edward and I were in love and I still do. I never felt I belonged in my world, I was always more comfortable in yours."

"Well that's a start but you understand you'll have to leave your human life behind, don't you? Once you become a vampire you can never see your parents again, or any one who knew you as a human. Can you do that?"

I nodded,

"I had thought of that, it's one thing Edward used to try to put me off the idea but if you truly love someone you have to be prepared to make sacrifices. Knowing my mom and dad are still alive and either grieving for me or trying to find me will be hard. Even harder will be learning that they are dead and I couldn't say goodbye but that's something I will have to learn to live with."  
"It sounds like you've given this a lot of thought Bella which is a good thing."

"That's why we have to find Jasper before he does something stupid or gets hurt. I can't lose him, Peter. I just know it would destroy me. The longer I've talked with you the clearer my feelings for Jasper become. I just wished he had stayed when the others left and had told me. I understand that loyalty to Edward and the family prevented him but surely once he knew Edward was never coming back he could have spoken to me?"

"He's a complex person Bella and very loyal and respectful. It would take him some time to see that he was free to tell you how he felt."

I understood Jasper's actions better now although I still felt he could have come back to Forks and told me. For now, though we had to focus on where to begin our search.

We sat together in the SUV having been to the movies, a film he had wanted to see and had then moaned about ever since as being shallow, inaccurate, and miscast! Peter, who had been pouring over the map on my lap, an arm around my shoulders and his cheek close to mine suddenly froze.

I glanced around nervously, had he sensed danger? I couldn't see anything but that didn't mean much.

"Peter?"

He shook his head but didn't look around, in fact, his eyes looked glazed over as if he was thinking hard.

"What the fuck?"

"Peter, you're scaring me."

I had moved closer to him but his arm which had pulled me close only a moment ago now relaxed.

"Sorry Bella but I got a sudden spooky fucking feeling. I think we need to get moving sooner rather than later."

"So you think this danger you are feeling is Jasper, not me?"

He nodded,

"I guess so, which is not to say you aren't still in danger, don't forget the redhead Bella."

"OK, but I'm more worried about him than me, I have you to protect me. We could leave tomorrow evening. Charlie is expecting us to go over the weekend, I'll just tell him we got cheaper tickets if we fly late tomorrow evening."

 **Peter**

I didn't want to alarm Bella but the feeling I had received was stronger than anything I had ever felt before and I knew my friend was walking into more danger than he had ever done before. The trouble was that I could think of only one situation that could possibly mean real danger for The Major yet I couldn't understand him taking such a step. What the fuck could be so bad that it sent him there? He must know that to do so would mean the end for him, he would fall so deep into that bottomless pit that there would be no bringing him back. The problem was that I had no idea how long I had and how could I possibly justify taking Bella into danger but how the fuck could I stop her?

We drove back to her place but I didn't go in tonight, I needed time to think so I just watched her walk to the door then waved and drove back to the Cullen house.

If I was going back I needed to be sure that Bella would remain safe. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a single person who could look after her and make sure she stayed safe. She was tough and single-minded and it wouldn't be easy to keep her out of danger. If push came to shove I might have to hog-tie her and lock her in the trunk of my car and I could well imagine how she would take that!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

 **Jasper**

I couldn't believe what I had seen today. I had come to Forks to face Bella and apologize for my actions. To tell her just how I felt and hope that maybe she would allow me to show her how much she meant to me and court her, prove my worth to be her mate.

Peter Whitlock was the last person I had expected to see in Forks. What the hell was he doing here and where was Charlotte? I had held back and see what exactly was going on before making my presence known to Bella although I had expected Peter to sense my presence. If he had then his subsequent actions were staged to show me only too clearly that I was too late, I had lost my chance with Bella.

He had been welcomed into the Swan house and a few minutes later the two had come out talking animatedly about the movie they were going to see later. I'd followed the two into Port Angeles and watched incredulously as Peter had taken Bella's arm and led her into a restaurant for dinner. What the hell was this? A date? I'd sat through a mediocre film pleased to see that Peter hadn't enjoyed it although I felt my anger swell when he casually laid his arm along the back of her seat, that was way too intimate for me.

After leaving the theater I expected them to drive straight back to Forks but instead, they had parked up in a secluded rest stop halfway between the two towns. What the hell was he doing in that truck with Bella? They looked awfully cozy and it was then it suddenly dawned on me that maybe I was too late.

I drove away unable to bear the sight of my mate so intimate with my best friend. I didn't want to believe what I had seen, what it meant. My mind was in such turmoil that I pulled off the highway after a short while and rested my head against the door pillar trying to pull my thoughts and emotions into some kind of sense. Was there another way to explain what I had seen? I tried all ways but nothing explained it other than the fact Peter and Bella were a couple. They had acted like a couple, comfortable in each others company, talking and laughing, Peter taking her arm as they entered both the restaurant and theater. How could it be that Peter had stumbled upon my mate and fell in love with her? Charlotte couldn't have been waiting home for him, he would never have betrayed her.

So, my own stupidity had lost me any chance I might have had with the girl I had recognized as my one true love but had left behind. Ironic that it should be my only real friend who had stepped in and taken my place.

My first reaction was to turn around drive back to Forks and find Peter, probably at my own former home. I would drag him from there and beat him to death slowly but then I realized I had only myself to blame. If I had told Edward to go to hell when he decided we should leave Forks, stayed and told her how I felt about her then it might be me sitting in his place beside her. My arm around her shoulders instead of his but I was a coward, a weak fool, and now it was too late.

As the pain, the hopelessness crashed down upon me I cried out. My despair shattering the silence of the night. I had no idea what to do except to get as far from here, from them as I could.

I'd burned my bridges with everyone who mattered, I didn't fit in anywhere any longer, this world held no place for such as me so where now?

I heard a crack and saw I had tightened my grip on the steering wheel so much that the plastic had shattered. It took an effort to relax my grip even a little but finally I understood what I had to do, restarted the engine and getting back on the highway, headed south.

There was only one place left where I might still find a welcome. It meant giving myself over to my dark side, permanently this time, but I was already in hell so why not?

 **Peter**

The next day the feeling was stronger and I worried that we might be getting short on time but I could hardly kidnap Bella on her last day of school. So, I waited outside frustrated at the wait and relieved to see her smiling face as she climbed in beside me.

"Let's pick up your bag, we're driving straight to the airport then."

"You're beginning to scare me, Peter."

I didn't explain just pulled up outside the house and followed Bella up the steps. It wasn't until I reached the top of the porch steps and she opened the door that it hit me. I knew why I'd had that feeling so strongly last night. I pushed her aside and walked into the house,

"Fuck!"

"What? What's happened, Peter? Please tell me."

I shook my head,

"Why didn't I sense him? What the fuck is going on?"

She pulled on my sleeve glaring at me now and I continued, trying to explain myself.

"I know why I got that feeling last night and why it's worse now. Bella, we need to move quickly."

"Why?"

"He's been here, The Major, and I think maybe he followed us last night."

"He was here? Jasper was here in Forks?"

"Yeah and we must have looked really cozy to him."

Her hand flew to her mouth and she gasped.

"He saw us going out and thinks you and I are a couple? You mean…..dating?"

"Yeah, that's just what I think Bella. I think he put two and two together and made a hundred and five."

"So what will he do?" Why didn't he approach? Speak to us?"

"Because he thinks he's lost you, lost his mate and that means he's lost his only reason to continue. Bella, I think I know where he's going, and if I'm right then it's somewhere you should stay as far away as possible from. I should go alone."

She shook her head looking stricken but determined and I knew I'd been right about her response. I wouldn't be getting shot of her any time soon.

"I'm going along with you Peter, wherever he's headed."

I groaned and as I saw the last of the color drain from her face I understood she had worked out where I thought he was headed.

"He's going to Mexico, isn't he? You told me so much about Maria that I know she's the only person you fear, the only place he would run to if he thinks he's lost his mate, lost me. She'll kill him won't she?"

"No, I think she'll welcome him back with open arms and take him straight down to hell Bella."

"Then we need to get moving. if I am what you think I am to him. So come on, let's get going. We can get there in time can't we Peter? Can't you ring him? Stop him?"

"I've already tried Bella, believe me. His phone is switched off, probably thrown away or destroyed in his rage and even if I did get through do you really think he'd believe anything I have to say? After seeing us like that? On a date? It's going to be dangerous enough just approaching him even with you, I might find myself losing more than a few teeth!"

"You think he'd try to kill you? But you're his best friend."

"Yeah, a best friend who moved in on his mate, death would be a relief and if he reaches Maria before we reach him it might be too late to do anything except run, fast!"

I wasn't sure Bella understood just how perilous this journey was going to be. I could only hope that we would get there in time to save him and that I could protect her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **Peter**

As we waited for our flight Bella bombarded me with more questions about Maria and our relationship with her. Mainly to stop herself thinking of the possibility we might be too late.

"What I still don't understand is why if he thinks his world has ended would he go back to Maria? Why would he do that? From what you've said she made his life a living hell, what's to stop her just killing him on sight?"

"Not likely Bella. He's the best fighter, the most skilful commander she ever had. Besides, I think in her own warped sick way she was in love with him, having him go back to her would give her total power over him. Like I said she'd welcome him with open arms. Of course, it would be the final straw for him, though, I think he would give himself over to his dark side. It's complicated Bella, you only get one shot at a mate and if he thinks he's lost you he's gonna want to end his life but committing suicide is pretty fucking tricky for an immortal being. Going back to Maria would basically be the same thing as killing himself. He'll just allow The Major to take over, the Jasper Hale you knew will just cease to exist and then, trust me, there's no hope of getting him back."

 **Bella**

"Peter, we have to beat him to her."

I could see in his eyes what he was thinking. Beat him to Maria? What the fuck do we do then? Peter was as scared of Maria now as he had been the day he and Charlotte had escaped yet he was on his way back there because his love and loyalty to his friend was greater than that fear. Peter Whitlock was indeed a man to be admired.

I tried to sound positive as I continued,

"Then we'll just have to get to him before he reaches her. If, as you say, I am that important to him I should be able to persuade him not to cross over."

"You have to persuade him that you and I are nothing to each other first Bella but yeah, if he sees you, if you ask him not to go he wouldn't be able to. You are his only reason for living Bella, his very soul mate and he knows that even if it's taken him a long while to work it out. You are the only one who can stop him now.

 **Peter**

I had a strange feeling that Maria wasn't going to be our only problem. There was trouble closer than that and I wondered if James' red-headed mate, the one that Bella had told me about might not be too far behind us. After all, I'd just killed her only remaining companion and I doubted she had sent him off on his own without being able to check on how well he had fared. The only good thing was that she couldn't be as dangerous as Maria, neither was it likely that the two bitches knew each other, The thought of two crazy bitches working together wasn't a pretty one!

Bella was nervous and impatient but as she was human we had to rely on human transportation, alone I could have run from north to south far more quickly but not carrying Bella and however much I wanted to save my friend I knew I had to keep his mate safe as my first priority. I just hoped we could get this over with and back to Forks before Bella's dad discovered she hadn't gone to visit her mom in Florida.

Luckily the flight never ran into any trouble and we landed early. The rental car was waiting and gassed up and we were able to make straight for the border.

"How are we going to find Jasper? He might already be over the border with her, with Maria."

"No, I'd know if he had and he's close but he hasn't crossed the border yet. There is something I probably should tell you, though."

"What?"

"That other female, the redhead that was with James, I think she's tracking us."

"Victoria? She's following us?"

She sounded really stressed and I cursed myself for being honest, I should have kept my big mouth shut.

"Don't worry, you're safe with me and she's not that close or my radar would be pinging like crazy."

"Can we go then? We have to catch Jasper Peter, but where do we wait for him? How do we find him?"

She expected me to have all the answers which was flattering and I just hoped I could live up to the confidence she placed in me.

"I think he'll go through the border the same place we used years ago."

"And if he doesn't?"

I shrugged,

"Then it's gonna be even more fucking difficult but let's look at it optimistically shall we?"

She looked scared and I understood for the very first time just how much she loved him. I still didn't know if humans had the same feelings as vampires did when it came to mates but Bella seemed really agitated knowing her's was in danger.

"Which way are we going?"

I pulled out of the rental place ready to turn left but she shook her head,

"Right Peter, we should go right."

"Right? Why?"

As I posed the question she looked confused but I knew it was the mating pull, she might not understand how she knew which way to go but I would be happy to take directions from her, I needed to build her confidence not knock it down.

"OK, I'll drive, you give directions. Just relax and let your instinct take over. You may not know how you know where he is but trust me, you do."

She didn't look convinced but it was either her or my guesses and I put my money on her instincts. We were getting close to the border but not where I expected, all I knew was that we were ahead of him just.

 **Jasper**

I found myself in the mountains of Colorado, not that far from the Whitlock ranch a place I had once thought of as my home but not any longer. I had stopped off in town only to discover that the Whitlocks had split, Charlotte had apparently left Peter! It seemed unbelievable but it would explain Peter's courting of Bella. She was beautiful, funny and accepting of our kind and he would be lonely and upset.

I sat staring at the summit as the orange orb of the sun slowly disappeared behind it and felt myself slipping away too. Maybe Peter had gone to Forks looking for me, for some comfort from his best friend only to find that friend had vanished without a trace. I had done exactly the same thing to Peter I had done to Bella and somehow the two most important people in my life had found each other instead. I deserved to lose everything after acting the way I had but to lose everything like this? What did it leave for me? I had no friends, no mate and no family. Just a cold and empty future which considering most of my own kind feared, hated, or wanted to challenge me, to make a name for themselves by killing The Major, was even bleaker.

I tried to see beyond the darkness, to look for even the faintest glimmer of light in my endless future but all I could see was blackness, a cold loneliness. I have no idea how long I sat there but my shoulders were covered with a dusting of snow and the sun was once more high in the sky by the time I gave up the unequal struggle.

There was only one place left where I might still find a welcome. It meant giving myself over to my dark side and permanently this time, but I was already in hell so why not? At least the pain would go away and if I were really lucky she might even kill me.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

 **Victoria**

I finally received the information I had been waiting for. The human I had promised I would turn if he found out what was happening in Forks with Bella Swan had come through. Somehow the little bitch had managed to get herself a new protector and as Laurent had failed to kill her I presumed he was dead. I knew Peter Whitlock by reputation and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to hear he was hanging around seeing as his friend Major Whitlock had been one of those protecting the girl when we first came across the Cullens, He was one of those who had killed my beloved James.

What I hadn't expected was to hear that a man who from his description just had to be The Major after spying on his friend and the girl had turned around and left without even speaking to either of them. Now, what was all that about? What was he going to do next?

I instructed my spy to stay on Peter and Bella while I used one of James' friends, another skilled tracker to find and follow The Major from a safe distance. I was now torn, I wanted revenge for James but I also wanted to live which meant I must be very, very, careful.

What was I going to do next? I was no match for Peter's fighting ability or The Major's and until I knew exactly what the situation was it would be foolhardy not to mention possibly lethal to act.

It appeared the gods were smiling on me when I learned that my spy had overheard a discussion between Peter and the girl. It seemed The Major was more important to the girl than Edward Cullen had ever been. This meant that in order to kill her I would need some help. The Major would come looking for her if he felt she was in danger and he and Peter together were formidable. I needed an ally or an army, not inexperienced newborns though, they didn't stand a chance against such opposition.

Then I got my second lucky break, The Major had headed south fast but had stopped in Colorado.

"I know you don't like guesses but it's the best I can give you right now Victoria. I'd say he was headed to Mexico, he's been asking around for the location of Maria's compound."

I smiled widely as I put the phone down, I needed someone who understood The Major and his idiot sidekick, someone with the manpower and cunning to take them out and leave the girl to me and he was headed straight to the only ally I would ever need. The icing on the cake was to find out that Peter and Bella were also headed that way.

I had to move fast but I had a head start, I was physically closer to Mexico, The Major might reach Mexico but Peter had Bella to think about, he couldn't move that fast and he had to be careful. I doubted he was in any hurry to set foot in Maria's territory once more. This might actually be fun!

Maria was delighted to hear that The Major was headed in her direction and the thought she might also get her greedy little hands on Peter Whitlock too had her dancing for joy. She drove a hard bargain but knowing the only way she could keep her pet Major was if the human girl was dead, preferably before the two set eyes on each other again, she eventually agreed to help me and allow me to keep the girl. She would be waiting for The Major as he crossed the border and would welcome him home leaving some of her soldiers to help me take out Peter, or capture him if they could, and I would take Bella as payment for the information and the Captain.

I found a convenient spot to watch the border crossing Maria thought The Major would use. I wasn't getting too close to the action until it was safe to do so, not alone anyhow. My spy had told me that Peter and Bella were due to land within the hour and I already knew The Major wasn't more than an hour, two hours out at the most so it was going to be close, very close.

 **Peter**

Parking up with the vehicle hidden from sight we walked the rest of the way, staying just the U.S side of the border when suddenly my radar went crazy and then I saw them and grabbed Bella, putting her behind me although what I could do against half a dozen of Maria's soldiers plus Nathan and the Mad Mexican bitch herself I had no idea.

She moved forward smiling,

"Captain Whitlock, it's been a very long time. No Charlotte? What a pity after all the trouble you went to escape and save her life. Are you going to introduce me to your little friend? By the way, you're looking pretty good for a dead man!"

Her voice was menacing and I knew that boded ill for me. She might be intrigued enough to keep Bella alive or maybe change her although if she knew what Bella meant to The Major I wouldn't lay odds on Bella surviving any longer than I would!

Her attention turned to Bella,

"And who is this? Your new sex object? Captain Whitlock and a human, interesting. I wonder what your friend would say if he could see just how cozy the two of you are? You must have grown larger balls, Captain, stealing The Major's mate especially as I hear your friend is on his way or was my informant lying?"

She clicked her fingers and a tall redhead moved into view.

"Victoria"

Bella's voice was a low hiss of fear and loathing.

The redhead smiled,

"You remember me, Bella? How lovely. Did you really think I would forget the girl who killed my mate? I've waited a long time to meet you again."

Maria looked around,

"I don't see The Major, did you lie to me?"

"Oh no, he'll be here. The girl is his mate just like I told you. He saw his best friend making out with his mate and he'll be looking for some way to forget about his pain."

"And he thought of me? How wonderful. Well, for now, I think I'll keep both of them."

"You promised me the girl if I brought you The Major."

Maria's eyes flashed dangerously, Victoria had no idea how close she was to her own death.

"And when he arrives you can take her. Until then you are all my guests so let's go shall we."

She gestured and the soldiers closed in on us as Bella grasped my arm more tightly.

Well done asshole! I had successfully delivered not only myself but Bella too into Maria's hands and I had no idea how to get us back out. I hadn't figured on Victoria beating us here, I was getting sloppy, I had been out of the game for too long but then I felt my radar easing, it was no longer going crazy, not that I had taken enough notice of it in the first place.

Maria stopped suddenly and turned, her face breaking out into a genuine smile at someone she saw before anyone else.

"Nathan, why don't you escort our guests to the compound."

Bella gasped recognizing the figure who had stepped out from the shadows.

"Jasper."

He turned cold eyes onto both of us, and I expected him to say something, maybe even attack me but instead he turned his attention to Maria. He had no idea why we were here and decided to act as if he didn't care until he could work out what was really happening or at least I hoped that explained his actions because the alternative was just too scary to contemplate.

Bella opened her mouth to speak but I squeezed her arm in warning, an action not missed by Maria or Victoria.

"Why don't we all go to the compound, we can talk more comfortably there, Major."

Maria held out a hand and after a moment's hesitation he walked to her side, was he really going to give up on Bella without a word?


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

 **Jasper**

I had no idea why Peter and Bella were here, surely he wouldn't be rejoining Maria and bringing along his girlfriend? Even Peter wasn't that crazy, it was sheer folly. Seeing the girl I loved holding his hand was torture but to feel her fear upset me even more. To hear my name on her lips cut me to the heart but then I realized she was pleased to see me, relieved even. Was that because she thought I could help her? Deciding that it didn't matter, that I would do all I could to save her whatever happened I understood I needed a handle on the situation.

I stepped to Maria's side, let her think I was coming back to her, maybe I was but my mind refused to take the final step and allow myself to join her body and soul yet. Nathan wasn't happy to see me but then I had always been his rival, the better commander, the man whose place he had wanted to supplant in Maria's affections. I would need to watch him, I had no idea how high he had grown in her esteem and in ambition.

I had thought I would feel relief when I saw Maria, a way out of the pain I was feeling but instead I had been confronted by a situation I couldn't fathom. That Victoria was here too gave me pause for thought. She wasn't one of Maria's soldiers, no, she was an outsider, so why was she here? It was no coincidence of that I was sure.

She had made a deal with Maria and like everyone who sold their soul to the devil, she was about to see just how dangerous that was.

"Why don't we sort this out now? Do we need to take anyone with us?"

Maria looked at me speculating on what I meant.

"Don't you want the girl with us? And your friend? It could be just like old times Major. After all, you are here to join me again aren't you?"

She was suspicious and that made her even more dangerously unpredictable.

"Of course. You don't need Peter, though, let him go, and the girl."

She smiled like a cat showing a row of brilliant white teeth framed by blood red lips.

"How interesting, Victoria told me that you were interested in the girl, that you left to return to me because you found out Bella had fallen for your friend. Was she wrong, or are you willing to give her up without even a fight? That doesn't sound like the Major I knew."

"I'll stay too if you'll just let Bella go free with a promise from Victoria to leave her alone."

Peter's speech made Maria arch an eyebrow at me.

"Interesting, so she is important. I'm sorry Victoria but I changed my mind, I'm going to keep the girl too."

Victoria started forward angrily but before she could get out more than a few words of complaint she found herself outnumbered and then dead. I could have told her Maria didn't tolerate any questioning of her decisions.

Watching the nomad's body disappear into purple smoke Maria smiled, gazing at me almost lovingly.

"It's going to be wonderful having you at my side again Major but I need to know I have your undying and complete loyalty this time."

"You have, just let Peter and Bella go."

She studied them for a long moment then shook her head,

"Words are not enough this time Major, I need something more concrete. I want you to demonstrate your loyalty. Kill the Captain."

I should have guessed she had a plan ready, now what was I going to do? I may hate him for stealing Bella but not enough to kill him.

Seeing my hesitation her eyes narrowed but then Peter spoke up,

"If he shows his loyalty by killing me you show your belief in him by letting the girl go…...now."

What was going on? Of course, if he loved Bella he would be willing to sacrifice himself to keep her safe but that didn't change the fact that I couldn't bring myself to kill him.

Maria clapped her hands with glee,

"How very gallant of you Captain, willing to lay down your life for the girl even though she isn't your mate."

I started, not his mate? Bella glanced at me imploringly before returning her attention to Peter.

If she wasn't his mate why were they together? And why had they come here? To Mexico and into danger?

Peter stood smiling and started to whistle an old familiar tune. We had used it as a warning signal when things weren't as they appeared. His eyes travelled from Bella to me and suddenly it hit me. He knew what Bella meant to me and he seemed to know why I had travelled back here. He and Bella had tried to stop me before I met Maria, they had put their own lives at risk to save mine and now all three of us were likely to end up dead, what a fool I had been jumping to conclusions.

"Well, I'm always grateful for a little entertainment so let's see…..the girl is important to both of you so why not settle the matter here and now. The winner gets the girl, the loser gets…...death."

Peter shot me a look, we both knew Maria was determined to pit us against each other, something she had tried many times before without success. This time, however, she had just what she needed, a lever.

Bored with waiting for an answer she clicked her fingers and several of the soldiers moved forward arms outstretched to take Bella away from Peter but he pushed her behind him once more shaking his head.

"You want a fight? OK, but you have to let the girl go first. Once I know she's safe I'll fight The Major for you, winner stays with you. What do you say?"

I could see she was considering his deal and she liked it. Bella meant little to her, dead or free, it made no difference to Maria. What she wanted was one of us, preferably me, although there was no way I would seek my own life at the expense of my friend's, unfortunately even if I allowed him to win he would be stuck with Maria, which was also a death sentence

"What do you say, Major? Are you willing to agree to these terms?"

"Yes."

She laughed throatily and it brought back memories of long ago when she and I were lovers but this time it made me feel sick to the pit of my stomach.

"Very well, you can go girl but hurry, before I change my mind and kill you anyway."

Neither of us trusted Maria but what we hadn't expected was Bella's reaction.

"Go to hell, I'm not leaving."

Maria's eyes narrowed, she wasn't used to being spoken to like that and she didn't like it one bit.

"This is your last chance to leave. Stay and I'll turn you then give you to my newborns and trust me, they are not kind to females."

 **Bella**

I couldn't leave while Peter and Jasper were forced to fight. The only reason we were here at all was because of my stupidity and I had to try and save them both.

"Why don't you just take me? You don't want these two, they already escaped your clutches once, are you sure they won't be equally as successful a second time?"

Maria hissed in anger but I was past being afraid of her. Besides, if Peter and Jasper were willing to sacrifice their lives for me then I was prepared to reciprocate.

Peter tried to shoo me away and I knew he was more frightened for me than for himself but I stubbornly resisted.

"I'm staying."

Maria flicked her head, her long glossy raven hair falling across her shoulders,

"Stay then, maybe I'll give you as a prize to the winner. I wonder who you will be hoping that is, care to tell us?"

"Go to hell, oh I forgot, you're already there aren't you bitch?"

I wondered if I could distract her and give the other two a chance to take control but there were just too many standing against them. Or so I thought before realizing I underestimated their courage. As Maria and most of her soldiers turned their attention to me the guys burst into action and the fight was on.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

 **Bella**

I guess I was shocked that things happened so fast, almost too fast for me to follow. I had never seen any of the Cullens fight before although Edward had shown me how strong and fast a vampire could be. I'd been out of it when they killed James but this time I had a ringside seat for the action. The individual actions were too fast for my human eyes to follow but the results were only too easy to see. I guess I didn't realize just how violent the fight was because as a human I expected blood when there were any injuries but vampires didn't bleed did they.

At first, Jasper and Peter were doing well, several of Maria's soldiers seemed to almost explode as limbs went flying through the air and I felt myself exultant but then Maria closed in surrounded by the rest of her soldiers and Peter went down under the onslaught of six, including the one Maria had called Nathan.

When Jasper started to stagger, one arm twisted sickeningly as if dislocated I understood they might just lose and began to panic. Not for myself, I didn't want to live if it would be without Jasper or Peter for that matter but I didn't know what I could do to stop the carnage.

Peter made a choking sound as Maria clapped her arm around his throat tensing to rip it from his shoulders five others trying to pin Jasper to the ground as Nathan pulled a lighter from his pocket planning on setting him on fire! I screamed and ran forward like a child trying helplessly to stop an out of control car.

 **Peter**

This was it, we were just outnumbered by too many but maybe we could keep Maria and her men long enough for Bella to get away. When I managed a glance at where she had been standing I cursed, typical woman she hadn't listened when I told her to get lost and as a result, she was going to lose her own life.

I felt a wrenching pain in my neck and heard Maria's familiar tinkle of laughter,

"Captain Whitlock, you should have stayed away from Mexico but then you never had the sense you were born with and now you are about to die like all those who defy me."

"Fuck you bitch!"

As my flesh began to tear and I closed my eyes ready to embrace my death something happened that changed the whole outcome of the fight. Maria was wrenched backwards flying through the air to crash against one of the nearby trees followed by the others who had been holding me down. Scrambling to my feet I looked around wildly for The Major only to find him staggering to his feet looking as confused as I felt.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Maria and her soldiers were prowling a few feet from us but didn't seem to be able to get any closer as if there were an invisible barrier in place.

I felt the venom soaking into my collar ease as the torn flesh began to heal and saw Bella run to my friend's side calling his name but looking at me,

"Are you OK Peter?"

"I'll live, but what the fuck is going on?"

She shrugged as The Major wrapped his good arm around her pulling her close while never taking his eyes from our antagonists.

"What is this Major?"

Maria was seething and I could well imagine our fate if whatever was protecting us from her was to fail.

"Must be our fairy Godmother I guess. A bitch for you, though."

She tried to launch herself forward maybe hoping strength alone would enable her to break through but found herself stopped violently as Bella glared at her.

"Leave them alone or suffer the consequences bitch."

Startled by the venom in her voice I stared at Bella, there was something different about her. She looked confident, strong and extremely angry.

"You crawl back to your stinking hole or I swear I'll kill you, Maria."

 **Bella**

I could feel the strength flowing through me and although I didn't understand what was happening I was sure I could keep us safe and use the power to attack our enemy. Once I felt Jasper's strong arm around me I understood I was where I belonged and I would do absolutely anything to keep us all safe. I may be a human but I was also Jasper's mate and I could and would fight for those I loved.

He staggered a little but pulled himself up and turned to me with the most beautiful smile in his face.

"Hello beautiful, I thought I'd lost you for a while there."

"Never, now come on, let's get away from here."

He nodded then returned his attention to Maria once more,

"Looks like we won't be joining you after all Maria but thanks for the invitation. I guess you're stuck with Nathan."

I could tell my mate was weak and in pain and from the look on his face, the dark color of his eyes he was thirsty. That would explain why he wasn't healing quickly. His arm was straightening but venom still oozed from the wound while Peter looked in better shape, maybe a result of his alternate diet. I wondered if Maria would try something as we left, I knew I was protecting us all but I had no idea how long it would last or if it's power would start to wane. I did feel it like saran wrap around us preventing anyone from getting through and concentrated on the feeling as we slowly backed away. A part of me wanted to wrap it around Maria and keep tightening it until it crushed her body to dust but I wasn't sure I was capable of such a thing, physically or mentally.

There were sounds behind us and I knew Maria's remaining soldiers were chasing after us but just as I was about to turn back Jasper shook his head,

"There's no need Bella, Maria is calling them back, she's scared of your gift and what you might do to her. We're safe now, all thanks to you."

"I don't really know what happened but I'm relieved we are all safe. Please tell me you won't try that again Jasper."

"Don't sweat it, Bella, even The Major isn't stupid enough to try again. If he'd bothered to use his fucking brain he wouldn't have come in the first place."

We reached the car and Jasper collapsed gratefully onto the hood.

"I need to hunt Bella, you should go with Peter, I'll catch up to you."

"You really think I'm going to let you out of my sight now I found you? No way Jasper."

"It's too dangerous for you to be around me right now."

I knew he was worried his thirst might get the better of him although I thought I had already demonstrated that I was more than capable of protecting myself, even from vicious vampires but I understood he might need a little time alone so I nodded.

"OK, Peter can go with you."

He was about to protest that he didn't need a babysitter but the look on my face stilled his tongue and he nodded his agreement at which Peter burst into laughter,

"She's already got you wrapped around her finger Major, something I never thought I'd live to see."

Turning on him I snapped,

"Shut it Peter or you won't live long enough to see anything ever again."

As I drove away planning for them to catch up with me at a motel Peter knew of that was far enough away Maria was unlikely to find. Personally, I thought she wasn't stupid enough to try another encounter but it put their minds at rest. I had wanted Jasper to kiss me goodbye but he seemed a little nervous and I knew I would have to wait until he had spoken to Peter and was sure of his position in my affections. I could wait now I knew he was safe but hopefully not for too long.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

 **Jasper**

I could feel the anger coming off Peter in waves as we ran almost side by side into the woods. He wasn't hunting, just watching me for Bella because she had asked him as if sure he would do anything she asked of him. Just how close were the two of them? My own anger and confusion were also getting the better of me and finally I could take it no longer. I stopped suddenly and then turned on my companion.

"You gonna tell me just what's going on between you and Bella?"

Peter stared at me contemptuously,

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't think I am. I don't think I need to explain anything to you, not any longer."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you making moves on her or not?"

"And if I am? What concern is it of yours? After all, you left her behind, I don't think you have any rights over her or what she does, do you?"

I felt anger filling me, mine and Peter's,

"Just what the fuck is that supposed to mean? We left yes but I came back and what do I find? You drooling all over Bella. What happened to Charlotte? You dump her so you could find someone else? Maybe my girl?"

"Your girl? Now that is amusing. You sure have a funny way of showing how much you care about people."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, now let me think about it…..Oh yeah, you run away and hide without a word to anyone who cares about you and now you're expecting us to say no problem just great to see you again. Well, guess what? It doesn't fucking work like that. You have one huge fucking humble pie to eat if you want forgiveness. I never thought I'd say this to you but I think you are a fucking coward Major."

 **Bella**

I was almost at the motel when I was suddenly filled with a sense of foreboding. Something was wrong and I was sure what I was feeling was coming from Peter and Jasper and turning the car around with a screech of tires I set off back the way I had come hoping I would get there before something terrible happened. Had we been wrong? Had Maria tracked the two guys and was even now attacking again. Neither of the guys was in any state to take on her men they hadn't had time to hunt properly, in fact, Peter wouldn't have hunted at all, not in the woods.

I pushed the rental car as hard as I could, praying I wouldn't encounter any traffic cops as I didn't have my license and I wasn't insured to drive this vehicle. When it was no longer possible to follow my feeling in the car I parked and began to run. Whatever was happening it sent shivers running down my spine. I wasn't sure whether I expected to be able to track them down. Charlie had always laughed at my hiking skills but something was leading me to them, I knew that instinctively.

Up ahead I heard the sounds of a scuffle and slowed listening intently. This wasn't a fight between lots of people so it couldn't be Maria, this sounded more like a brawl between two men and when I could finally see the object of the noise I was staggered. Peter had Jasper on the ground and was kneeling on his chest, both hands grasping the latter's hair and banging his head against the ground repeatedly. His voice was low but full of menace and I could hear the words clearly enough.

"You're a fucking coward Major. You abandoned us. Not only me but Bella too. You just ran like a mangy cur with its tail between its legs rather than face up to things like a man. I thought I meant more to you than that. I thought we were friends, would always be friends but where were you when I needed you? Hiding behind Carlisle Cullen's fucking skirts, a one hundred percent coward all the way through."

Jasper tried to reply but Peter let go with one hand and punched his friend in the face hard enough that I could see a spider web of cracks appear at the impact site.

"Shut the fuck up, I haven't finished yet and there is nothing you can say that I want to hear. It was bad enough dropping me like a piece of crap but to do the same to Bella who was an innocent in all this. The one person who never judged any of you, who just accepted you for what you were, well that's really fucking low even for you."

Once more Jasper attempted to defend himself verbally but he didn't seem to be struggling very hard against Peter's onslaught. It was as if he agreed with everything Peter said. He knew he was guilty of abandoning both of us and that guilt stayed his hand as Peter continued to beat him with his fists although his expression wasn't one of hate so much as betrayal and disappointment.

I called on Peter to stop but he didn't appear to hear me and continued with the beating. Jasper, however, had heard and turned his battered face to gaze at me. I saw such guilt and sorrow there that I knew I had to do something before Peter killed him, he would never be able to live with the guilt. I moved forward but Peter's flailing arms threatened to knock me out. I couldn't get close enough to safely grab his arm. Unsure what else I could do and still shouting at the top of my voice I sank to my knees, tears of fear and frustration rolling down my cheeks.

 **Jasper**

I wasn't going to fight my friend although I was trying to protect myself with difficulty when I saw Bella reappear. Somehow she had known what was happening and had come back. She shouted at Peter to stop but my friend was in the zone, not hearing anything but his own rage fueled thoughts. When Bella sank to her knees and began to cry I couldn't bear it so I projected her misery onto Peter and his fists stopped upraised for another blow.

"Look, Peter, look at what we are doing to Bella."

He turned his head shocked to see her kneeling there and suddenly I was free to get to my feet. He was at her side, an arm around her begging her to forgive him.

"I need both of you, Peter, please don't do this. Jasper made a terrible mistake and hurt both of us but if you kill him you'll never be able to live with yourself and neither will I. Somehow we have to get beyond the pain, find a way to heal. Please."

I joined them, putting an arm around each and bowed my head,

"I am so sorry for my actions, they were inexcusable but I have to beg you to do just that, forgive me."

Peter tensed but didn't pull away while Bella's hand snaked up to take mine on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I think we've all suffered Jasper and we all need to show forgiveness."

There was a long silence during which all I could do was to wait and pray Peter would understand just how much I regretted my actions. He slowly pulled away then and stood his face inscrutable while Bella took both my hands in hers and stared into my eyes.

"I don't know how much you knew about my feelings for you, hell I didn't understand myself but something tells me that we are going to be spending eternity together because I love you Jasper. So, I have to forgive you but it was your one and only get out of jail free card so decide what you want to do quickly."

I squeezed her hands gently,

"I am so sorry for leaving you Bella, you too Peter, I was stupid and it could have meant losing my best friend and the woman I love. I promise you it will never happen again, both of you."

Bella tipped her face up to smile at me and I kissed her savoring the feelings of love I felt for me inside her. Then Peter nodded and held out his hand,

"Same goes for me. You ever fuck with me again Major and I'll kill you and nothing Bella can say will stop me just so you both know."

I took his proffered hand gratefully and we shook. I had survived by the skin of my teeth but I had survived and that was all that mattered to me right now.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

 **Bella**

I sat between the two of them holding their hands as we discussed what we were going to do next.

"First things first Bella. I'll explain to The major just how come we two became acquainted."

He did so without any further criticism of Jasper's behavior for which I was grateful, I wanted this time to heal the wounds that had opened recently.

Jasper apologized once more and then wanted to know just where Charlie thought I was.

"I doubt your dad knows you are running around the Mexican border with Peter."

I had forgotten all about my lie and my dad in the tension and violence but now Jasper's question hit hard.

"He thinks I went to visit my mom in Jacksonville."

I began to panic and almost shouted the next question,

"What day is it?"

I was relieved to find we had only been gone two days, I could probably get back before he became suspicious and rang Renee. If he did that then chances were I would be locked away until I was about forty!

"If we go straight back I might just live to finish school. You are coming back with us aren't you Jasper?"

The thought he might not be joining us made my stomach lurch.

"Won't that look a little suspicious Bella? You leave with me, supposedly to visit your mom and then arrive back with me and The Major? If I were your dad alarm bells would be ringing big time."

Peter was right of course but I hated the thought of leaving Jasper behind, more than that I feared I might lose him again and I could see he understood my fears. He nodded smiling encouragingly.

"Peter's right, you should go back with him but I promise I won't be far behind and when we meet again I intend to become the most important man in your life Bella. I don't deserve your love but I intend to win it and win back your trust. Yours too Peter."

I wanted to stay here with Jasper and Peter, not go back to what now seemed a complicated and hollow life in Forks but as Peter pointed out, the sooner we left the sooner Jasper could appear and the happier I would be. One thing about returning alone with Peter was that it gave me time to thank him for his help and reassure him that although Jasper was going to be in my life now I would always consider Peter my best friend. He had stood by me, saved my life, and helped me save Jasper's and I had no way of repaying him for such services.

"Hell, it was fun at times Bella, besides you won't be getting rid of me any time soon. The Major's my only real friend despite our little hiccup so if you have him in your life you get me too as a kind of free gift."

The journey back to Forks was far more relaxed and enjoyable than the outward one had been and I started to see just how good a man Peter really was. I had been conditioned by my genes to be afraid of vampires and meeting the Cullens had only taught me that some vampires were different, only the "vegetarian" ones, and even they couldn't truly be trusted. Peter, probably one of the most dangerous of vampires, with very little regard for humans in general, had proved to be the most loyal and dependable. I wondered what Carlisle would think if I ever told him that?

It hadn't occurred to me to ask Jasper about them before we left and I wasn't sure Peter would know but I had to ask.

"Do you think Jasper will tell the others about me?"

"By "the others" I take it you mean the Cullens? I guess so, they are still family to him and to be honest, Bella, much as I hate to admit it, and will vehemently deny the words if you ever tell anyone, the Cullens aren't all bad, after all, they saved The Major from his demons. I guess jealousy played a big part in my attitude towards Carlisle and his family. However, that doesn't mean to say I condone their actions towards you Bella."

I nodded,

"I can understand that, Jasper was your brother, just the two of you, or three if you add in Charlotte….."

"Which we won't"

His voice was cold and I knew it still hurt him deeply to have been betrayed by the girl he had loved.

"Sorry, well there were the two of you, brothers, but he needed more help than you could give him so you had to let him go. When he was accepted by the Cullens and became a part of their family it must have felt like another betrayal."

He thought about this for a few minutes then nodded,

"Very well put Bella. I guess they'll be begging your forgiveness soon, after all, if they don't make their peace with you then they'll lose him and much as it pains me to admit it they do seem to have accepted him as one of the family. Anyway, enough of that, what I want to know is, are you ready to spit in their collective eye?"

His mischievous grin told me he liked the thought of that but when I nodded he looked surprised and I arched an eyebrow in question,

"You don't really think I'm going to make it easy for them do you? Abandonment hurts, we both know that, and it won't do them any harm to feel the guilt and pain for a while but eventually I will forgive them, for Jasper's sake."

"You are really something you know Bella. I don't think I've ever met anyone with such a kind and forgiving heart but then I guess it's what makes you so special."

I laughed,

"Well, let's hope I'm special enough to deal with my dad's reaction when Jasper turns up, the Cullens are not his favorite family. You may have noticed that."

"I didn't think your dad liked anyone very much, he certainly has reservations about me."

"I thought you didn't care what others thought of you Peter?"

He shrugged with his boyish grin,

"Usually I don't, you know something Bella? I'm not at all sure you're a good influence on me."

I stretched up and kissed him on one cold hard cheek,

"On the contrary, I'm sure I am and anyway I like you just the way you are."

When we arrived back in Forks I was nervous, if dad had spoken to Renee I was a dead woman and Peter might find himself on the business end of a hunting rifle! His smile when he saw me was reassuring and when he asked how my mom was I gave a few non-committal answers. Turning to Peter with a look of resignation he spoke,

"I guess you're back to stay for a while longer then Peter?"

"Yeah, I'm expecting my friend to reappear at some point."

Charlie stiffened, he knew Peter's friend was one of the Cullens and the thought they might be returning disturbed him on my account.

"Really? That's a shame."

Peter's air of innocence was masterful,

"A shame my friend is coming back? Or a shame I'm staying on for a while longer?"

I wondered how Charlie would dig his way out of that one but he just stared straight back at Peter,

"A little of both I guess."

Life was going to get very interesting real soon.

Of course, I had to return to school but I was counting the days wondering how long it would be until Jasper arrived. If not for Peter's companionship I was sure I would have gone crazy by now. He and I spent all my spare time together and I learned more about his past, mainly about his human life but I was shocked to discover that it had been Jasper who had turned him.

"Why didn't you hate Jasper for what he did to you?"

"I dunno, I was a runaway, a drifter and basically a no good bum and The major gave me a purpose, someone who seemed interested in me and saved me from Maria's wrath on more than one occasion. You may not have noticed but I can be a little abrasive at times."

I feigned shock,

"No. Really?"

We both laughed at that but I thought I understood the bond between the two men much more clearly and understood why Peter had said if I took on one I took on both of them, not that I minded, I was very fond of my abrasive friend.

.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **Charlie**

I guess I should have known things were going too well, Bella had come back seemingly happier and more relaxed than she had been in a long time which just proved that my ex had her uses. Although Peter Whitlock had returned with her when I had hoped he might decide he'd had enough of Forks he made an effort to be friendly and in all honesty, I couldn't fault him. He never kept Bella out late or interfered with her school work and she seemed genuinely fond of him although I could see there was nothing romantic between them which was something of a relief. He was connected however tenuously with the Cullens and that alone guaranteed he would never be on my "Persons I like" list!

They had been back for several weeks when I heard the dreaded news from a town councilor,

"Charlie, I thought I should warn you that I just heard from the clinic manager Doctor Cullen is coming back to Forks. It seems his sudden absence was connected with a family emergency and they are only too happy to have him back on the staff. I was thinking about your daughter. Do you think Bella will be OK with this? I know she took their departure hard so I thought I'd better give you a heads up."

I groaned running a hand through my hair when what I really wanted to do was to cuss and pull it out by the roots.

"Thanks, Steve, I appreciate that."

When I got home I wasn't sure what to expect, did Bella know? If she did was she going to be angry or upset? I had already decided that if she was upset at the thought of the Cullens coming back to Forks I would have serious words with Doctor Cullen to ensure he kept Edward well away from my daughter and offer her the choice of staying here with me or going back to Jacksonville and her mother although of course, I hoped she would choose to remain.

I needn't have worried, she had already heard and she didn't seem to be at all concerned, in fact, she appeared to be looking forward to their arrival.

"Don't worry dad, this time I'm the one in charge, they'll be the ones apologizing and I won't be accepting Edward's too quickly."

"Good. I have to admit I was worried about you when I heard the news. What about Peter? Will he be staying now they are coming back?"

Of course, I already knew the answer to that question, nothing was going to be easy or simple, no, there would be the Cullen family plus their "friend". What had I done to deserve this? I promised myself that if Bella showed any hint of being upset I would run the whole lot of them out of town consequences be damned. My daughter wasn't going to suffer again at their hands.

Bella was out of town on a school excursion to some museum the day I heard the family had appeared back in town and I was there at the house within an hour. The first person I ran into was Carlisle himself and I made no effort to hide the fact I was not happy to see him.

He smiled a little self-consciously and held out a hand

"Chief Swan, I was coming to see you once we were settled."

Ignoring the outstretched welcome gesture I spoke tersely to him.

"Yeah? Well, I guess I saved you a journey then Doctor Cullen, is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

He seemed a little taken aback by my cold attitude but invited me into his study and shut the door indicating a chair close to his desk for me to sit.

"No, thank you, what I have to say won't take that long Doctor, I'll keep it short and simple. I want you to tell your family to stay away from my daughter, especially Edward or I'll run him in, and if necessary I'll invent a reason, just so we are clear."

I guess he didn't expect that because it took him a few seconds to recover but then he nodded in understanding

"I understand your concern Chief Swan, I suppose our sudden departure must have upset Bella…."

I didn't even wait for him to continue, instead, I cut across his words,

"You have no idea what your "sudden departure" as you put it, did to my daughter, but I do. I witnessed her pain and the way she pulled herself together again, so if any of your family so much as makes my daughter frown….."

I touched my holster to demonstrate exactly what I meant and his eyes widened, he had no idea how destructive their mode of leaving had been for Bella but he was beginning to get it now. As I left without another word, happy that I had made my position crystal clear I saw Edward and Carlisle's wife Esme watching as I drove away.

 **Carlisle**

"He's not happy to see us is he Carlisle?"

"It would appear not, let's just hope we can apologize to Bella and change her attitude towards us, that might make her father a little less hostile."

"A little less hostile? Well, I guess as he's at DefCon one right now that won't be difficult. I'm just glad he hasn't got his finger on the button or we'd be radioactive right about now."

I had to agree with Edward's assessment of Charlie's attitude to us. Personally, I would have stayed away from Forks for a generation or two but Jasper had explained the situation and once Esme discovered he and Bella were mates she insisted we try to mend fences with the Swan family although I doubt she realized just how hard that was going to be.

Edward already understood how cruelly he had treated Bella and shouldered the responsibility for our less than warm welcome when we arrived back in Forks but he would try to speak to Bella first, to apologize.

"Maybe I can pave the way for the rest of you if Bella blames me. I know how desperate Esme is to make amends, especially now it appears Bella will be joining the family anyway."

I had worried a little how he would react to Jasper's news but he hadn't said anything, just congratulated his brother. I think he understood as soon as we left that he had burned his bridges with Bella and that knowledge would always torment him.

Esme had asked Jasper to return with us but he declined the invitation. I think he felt we should rebuild trust with his mate by ourselves, he wasn't going to speak up for us. The only thing he had said was that Bella had a generous heart and he was right but I had no illusions that she was going to make things easy for us, we would just have to see.

As it turned out Esme was the first to bump into Bella shopping in town. She told me about the encounter when she returned.

"I looked up and there she was just across the street from me so I waved and went across. She didn't wave back but she waited so I felt there was a chance. She was polite but not friendly even when I apologized for leaving, I think she'll forgive us but it will take time."

Edward was interested to hear just what she did say,

"Oh, just that she'd moved on, that she couldn't pretend that nothing had happened but things were different now. That trust had to be earned and she wasn't foolish enough to try pretending everything was just as it had been. More or less what I expected."

"Do you think she'll speak to me if I looked her up?"

"I really couldn't say, Edward."

He decided to ring her, I think he was too embarrassed to face her until he knew how she was going to react, Edward couldn't bear the thought of her turning her back on him. When he came back into the house I could see it had been a blow to him, whatever she had said and I waited.

"She didn't really want to discuss what happened. When I said I hoped we could continue as friends if nothing else she said the word we would never apply to her and myself again. She said she didn't hate me, she wasn't even angry any longer, that it was all in the past and that's where it would stay."

I nodded,

"It sounds like she has given things a lot of thought Edward and you have to accept her decision. She didn't tell you she never wanted to see you again and that's something."

He didn't look convinced but eventually, he sighed,

"I guess it's more than I should have expected but seeing her with Jazz, that's going to be hard. It's like he stole her from me."

"Actually, you threw her away Edward and this is what happens, living with the consequences is never easy but you'll get through it."

Again he looked unconvinced but nodded and walked away, shoulders slumped in disappointment.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Bella**

It had been hard seeing Esme again but I thought I had handled it well, I wasn't as angry as I would have been before seeing Jasper. I knew the family were important to him, even Peter had understood that and I knew that eventually I would become friends with them but for now I couldn't help the bitterness I felt from showing. A few minutes afterwards I was having coffee with Jessica and Angela who were both eager to hear how I felt about the Cullens return and if I had seen Edward yet.

"Do you think he'll want to get together with you again? He's going to be upset to see you with Peter."

"I keep telling you Peter is not my boyfriend Jess. He's just a friend."

She grinned rolling her eyes,

"I wish he was my friend, he's gorgeous and don't tell me you haven't noticed Bella because that would be a lie."

Angela who hadn't said anything yet suddenly hit the table with the flat of her hand making Jess and I both jump.

"I've got it. I knew he reminded me of someone but I couldn't think who it was, well he's like a combination of two someones actually."

Jess looked at me rolling her eyes,

"She's finally lost it, Bella. Did you understand any of that?"

"Nope but I'm sure Angie will make it clearer if we just wait until her brain starts up again."

Angie slapped me lightly on the arm,

"Peter Whitlock, he kinda reminded me of someone but I couldn't work out who. Now I know, he's like a mixture of Jacob Black and Jasper Hale."

I almost choked on my coffee, the thought of a Jake/ Peter hybrid was actually really funny.

I was about to answer her when an arm draped over my shoulder and a voice spoke softly in my ear,

"Hello, gorgeous."

I jumped as Peter slid in beside me with a wicked grin on his face which he then turned on my friends,

"So, who are we pulling apart this afternoon girls?"

Neither Angie nor Jess could form coherent words and I wasn't going to get them out of the hole Jess had dug for herself but before the silence stretched too long another figure appeared smiling down at me.

"Bella, may I join you?"

Now I was the one unable to speak, I was blushing furiously and my heart was beating like a race horse at the end of a race at seeing him again.

I was saved from appearing an idiot by the looks on my friends faces, their mouths dropped open in shock as Jasper pulled Peter out of his seat and took my hand in his ignoring their reactions and gazing into my face.

"I'm sorry I took so long to get here but I'm really hoping that you missed me."

I nodded,

"I was beginning to think you'd had a change of heart."

"No way."

He turned that heart melting smile on the others,

"Would you excuse us? It's been quite a time since I saw Bella and we have a lot to discuss."

We left Peter with the girls knowing he was in his element now he understood they thought he was dangerously gorgeous and knowing he would have the time of his life. I was more interested in what Jasper had to say and just happy to be with him. I had missed him so much, his absence only made bearable by Peter's presence.

"Have you spoken to anyone else?"

"You mean in the family? I saw Esme but no, I haven't visited and no one has been to school yet. Have you?"

"I dropped off my stuff at the house before I came to find you, I think they're nervous about your reaction and I understand your father had a quiet word with Carlisle."

I groaned although I suspected he would.

I had no idea where we were going and I really didn't care, I was with Jasper and my world was complete.

"So, are you staying at the house? You are staying aren't you?"

The thought he might not plan on remaining in Forks having just struck me.

He pulled me close,

"Yes, I'm staying Bella, where else would I go? No one else will have me and I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be, but I do have one more hurdle to jump."

"Oh? And that is?"

"Your father, I think his blanket warning to the family covered me too."

"He'll come around when he understands how much you mean to me."

"That's good to hear."

I took a deep breath before continuing,

"So I guess the sooner I introduce you as my…"

I wasn't sure what to call him and tailed off rather embarrassed but he stepped in,

"Your boyfriend? Fiance? Husband to be?"

I was staggered but tried to cover it up with a quip,

"Wow! I have a choice? Or is it for my dad to choose?"

He turned me into his arms and kissed me until my breath ran out.

Then looked at me quizzically,

"I rather thought you might decide Bella."

I took Jasper back home knowing that Charlie would be there waiting for me to organize dinner. He glowered at Jasper when he saw him and I could tell he wasn't happy to see us together although I fancied he would have been even more unhappy if it had been Edward standing beside me.

"Mr Hale."

"Chief Swan, it's good to see you again."

"Really? Well, I wish the feeling was mutual but I would have expected Carlisle to have passed on my message."

"I haven't seen him yet, I came to find your daughter first."

"To apologize?"

I took another deep breath before jumping in,

"Jasper and I are going out together and I really would like your blessing dad."

His face went white with shock and he tensed but merely inclined his head,

"Well, I guess there's not much I can do or say that will make any difference Bella, given your age, but you son, you'd better not be playing around with my daughter's feelings like your brother did."

"I'm not I assure you."

"Yeah, well considering your track record as a family you'll excuse me if I take your words with some skepticism. Anyway, it's dinner time so perhaps you should come back later…... much later."

Jasper said goodbye promising to be back later,

"I thought you might like to take a walk with me, Bella."

Dad snorted looking out the window at the steady rain which was falling but said nothing. In fact, he didn't speak again until we were seated at the dining table.

"How come you and the Hale boy have become so close? The family has only just got back so it must have been a quick pick up."

"I guess we knew there was an attraction before but things were complicated."

"Complicated? Yeah, I guess they were. Well, I can tell you I don't like it Bella. I remember what a mess you were when they left before and I can see you headed towards the same thing again. Anyway, what about Peter Whitlock? He seems awful fond of you. What did Renee have to say about him?"

I wasn't sure what to say so I just shrugged and let him think what he liked. He snorted,

"I'll bet she was all over him, that woman has no sense at all sometimes."

He went quiet after this which was a great relief, concentrating on his meal instead.

The next few days were wonderful, when I wasn't at school or doing homework I spent my time with Jasper, Peter joining us from time to time when he wasn't torturing Jess and Angie. Both of them were attracted to him and he was enjoying himself immensely stringing them both along, taking one for coffee and then the other to the pictures. I did warn them he wasn't interested in relationships but both were more than happy to be making the guys at school jealous. I wasn't sure who was using who in the end!

Then the invitation arrived from the Cullens, they were holding a housewarming party and both dad and I were invited. Charlie took one look at it, snorted, and threw it down on the table,

"Not a chance."

I decided it was as good an excuse as any to speak to them all without feeling awkward or outnumbered. In a crowd I could be pleasant and let them know there were no longer any hard feelings on my part but that things would never be quite the same, not in the short term anyway. I couldn't get past the way they had left and Edward least of all. He and Alice were back at school but kept their distance but I had yet to see Carlisle, Emmett, or Rosalie.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One**

 **Esme**

We really hoped that Bella and Charlie would accept our invitation, it would be so good to have an opportunity to mend fences. I had asked Jasper who was spending nearly all his time with Bella to bring her over on several occasions but he refused, she would have to be the one to decide when she wanted to see us, he wouldn't put any pressure on her.

Peter had become more of a fixture, which is how we discovered what had really happened after we left, how devastated and hurt Bella had been. That explained her coldness towards us, thoughtlessly accepting Edward's decision that we should just vanish had done more damage than we could ever have imagined.

Yet despite that, when she heard that Jasper was in terrible danger she had insisted on accompanying Peter on a rescue mission that could easily have resulted in her own death. Her connection with us still not severed completely. It made me think that Edward had made the biggest mistake of his immortal life walking away from her and now Jasper had stepped in and the connection between the two of them was stronger than anything he could have hoped for.

Peter had shown his undying loyalty to his friend and obviously, Bella had seen the goodness in him before we did. He had always been Jasper's boorish friend who we had tolerated for his sake. Another mistake on our part, it seemed Bella was adept at uncovering every one of them. Still, he showed no signs of leaving so maybe we had time to make things right with him too.

At first, I had thought he just liked hanging around because he knew it made us uneasy, Peter had never really approved of our family and made no effort to hide the fact, but that was uncharitable. He had changed since Charlotte left him and he and Bella became friends. Jasper was the only family he had left now and if he wanted to feel he had somewhere, a home, even perhaps a family then I would do my best to make that happen.

It took time but I slowly began to realize that there was more to it than just his wish to stay close to his friend. I began to notice that when he wasn't with Jasper, Bella, and her friends he spent a lot of time with Alice. If I needed one I would often find the other. The two who had more or less been strangers or passing acquaintances were now becoming firm friends.

Alice had always been soft-hearted, she felt everyone's pain and tried to alleviate it and it wasn't difficult to imagine that Peter was still in pain despite his attempts to put on a brave face.

It was Rose who first put my thoughts into words, she came to me in the garden one day grinning broadly.

"I think we might be hearing wedding bells in the not too distant future, Esme."

I got to my feet sweeping my hair back with one grubby hand, excited at the thought.

"Why? Have you seen Bella? Or did Jasper tell you?"

She rolled her eyes,

"Not Jazz and Bella, I was talking about Alice and Peter."

I tried not to look too eager,

"Alice and Peter? Don't be silly, he's busy chasing those two friends of Bella's, Jessica and Angela."

"For fun yeah maybe, but Alice has her sights set on him and who would choose mousy Angela or brash Jessica over her? They are together an awful lot and she's putty in his hands. Don't tell me you hadn't noticed? That's not like you Esme."

"No it's not, I guess I'm still busy worrying about Bella, I hate it that she won't come over and talk to us, allow us to apologize properly but I guess I can't blame her."

As Rose went back to the house with the knowing look still on her face I thought about what she had said. Peter Whitlock and Alice? Well, I guessed Alice would sort Peter out, smooth off his rougher edges but even so, those two together? The mind boggled. They did tend to gravitate to each other and wherever he went she made sure Peter always took her, the little sports car she loved so much never left the garage any longer, she would bounce in and out of his huge truck with a smile on her face and when he was absent she talked about him constantly.

 **Peter**

I found I had created a slight problem quite unknowingly. I liked Alice Cullen best of all the family, she was full of energy, always ready for some fun and I had been giving her a lot of attention but I hadn't meant for her to misunderstand my feelings towards her. I hadn't even realized she had such feelings for me until I saw her expression when she asked me to go to Seattle with her to a rock concert and I had to say I couldn't, I had other plans that day. The crazy thing was that the concert was exactly where I was going, just not with her.

I'd found myself strangely drawn to Bella's friend Angela, the quieter of her two best friends. She reminded me of Bella herself somewhat although I thought she was softer, gentler and not the kind of girl who would be interested in a guy like me. I enjoyed her company and found to my delight that whenever I met up with The Major, who I had to remember to call Jasper in front of other humans, and Bella, Angela was always there. Jessica the other best friend had slowly disappeared as if she sensed she was the odd one out. Or was that just wishful thinking on my part?

When The Major told Bella he had four tickets for the concert and asked if she wanted to make a foursome with me and maybe one of her friends I held my breath, I had no idea what kind of music Angela liked but I was praying and my prayers were answered.

"Angie and I wanted to go but we couldn't get tickets, they were sold out, so great."

Angela looked at me a little shyly,

"I'd love to go, as long as Peter doesn't mind that is."

Mind? I was looping the loop internally!

The concert was a great success although I hardly heard the bands, I was focused in on Angela, the way she looked at me with her head bent a little, her dazzling smile, her wonderful perfume. I had to admit it, I was caught, hook, line and sinker but would she be interested in a date, just the two of us?

As we left at the end of the concert she took my arm so we wouldn't get separated in the crowd and never let go. In fact, on the way back to Forks in the car we sat together in the back and for the first time in my life, I was speechless. None of my usual retorts were suitable and I didn't know what else to say so we listened in silence to the other two for a while before Bella suggested we make a foursome again the following afternoon.

"Angie and I are going ice skating after her parents get home, why don't you and Jazz join us?"

Ice skating? An excuse for me to show myself up by falling hard, repeatedly, on my ass? Hell, why not, if it meant more time with Angela?

What I hadn't expected was to run into Alice and Rose there. After all, how was I to know they enjoyed Ice Skating? I got several dirty looks from Alice who soon worked out that Angela and I were on a kind of date. Then she came over smiling at Angela, a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Hi Angie, I'd have thought you would be home babysitting your little brother and sister or doing your homework."

I was about to leap to her defence when she smiled at Alice and replied.

"Oh, I did the first this morning and the last on Friday night. I knew I wouldn't have much time with the concert yesterday and skating today. You should have gone, it was great. Peter and I really enjoyed it."

As she said that she put her arm through mine, staking a claim, an action that got its message across loud and clear.

Alice's eyes narrowed,

"Has your dad met Peter yet?"

For that read, he's not going to approve when he does.

"No, not yet but he will when we go home."

She turned to me a little abashed,

"If you'd like to that is Peter."

"Great, I'll be on my best behaviour, promise."

Alice sighed looking at the smile that blossomed on Angela's face at that. She got the message she had lost and with a final regretful look at me skated back to where Rose waited patiently for her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

 **Bella**

It took me a few days before the penny finally dropped, Angie was really taken by Peter. She had always been quiet and shy but suddenly she had a dreamy look in her eyes, one that only disappeared when Peter was around and then she looked animated, her eyes sparkling and she wanted to know everything I could tell her about him. Now, that was tricky, I had no idea if this was the real thing or not and there was no way I could tell her the truth about Peter or the Cullens.

"Are you sure about this Angie? I thought you said he made you feel edgy."

"He did but not any more, he's so sweet."

Sweet? Peter?

Although when I thought about it Peter has changed, he was less abrasive and his language was far less colorful. In fact, it was quite funny to see him bite cusses back in her presence. I wondered if the fact her father was a minister had anything to do with that? When she told me that Peter had been round for Sunday lunch I almost choked on my drink. How had Peter managed that one? Then I remembered the way Edward and his family had made sacrifices for me, to keep their secret and I suddenly felt that maybe this really was the real thing for Peter.

In turn, he quizzed me about Angela's likes and dislikes as if making her happy was the most important thing in his world.

"I'm taking her to the Cullens housewarming party, do you think it will upset Alice?"

"Do you care?"

"Sure, I don't want to put Angie in a situation where she's gonna feel awkward, that wouldn't be fair."

I stared at him for a moment then frowned,

"OK, where's the real Peter Whitlock? What have you done with him?"

He laughed,

"Yeah, I guess I have changed a little."

"A little? You're like a new man."

"Is that a good thing? Or a bad one?"

"Well, Angie likes him. Peter, are you serious about her?"

He nodded looking like a nervous school kid,

"Yes, I do but I'm scared how she'll react when she learns the truth about me."

I stood rigid with shock,

"You like her enough to risk telling her the truth?"

"Of course, I mean…...well…..she's special, very special, to me."

What he was trying to say was that Angie was the one and finding it really difficult but I was enchanted. The idea of Angie coming into the new vampire world with me was a wonderful one but I didn't want to build my hopes up too high, she might not be able to take the truth and then what would happen? I would talk to Jasper about my concerns for now at least I was just content to see both of my friends so happy.

The party at the Cullens went much better than I had expected, mostly because Edward kept his distance and the others were trying so hard to make amends. Alice kept throwing glances at Peter and Angie who made such a lovely couple and finally smiled wryly, a good loser after all. Being here among other people with Jasper at my side I relaxed and began to unbend amused to see first Esme's relieved expression then Emmett beam when I smiled at him. What was the point of holding a grudge when I was so happy and things had turned out so well?

By the time the party ended I had even spoken to Edward who looked sad but resigned to the way things had turned out but didn't allude to the past. My dad actually put in an appearance about halfway through the evening and even he relaxed somewhat when he saw how unconcerned I was. I knew things would never be the same for him, he wasn't going to forgive or forget the past which was a shame as he and Carlisle had been close. Watching Esme and Carlisle I could see they understood the situation too and were saddened by it. Perhaps they would understand now that it wasn't acceptable to just up and leave, not if you expected those you had abandoned to remain friends if you turned up again later.

The crazy thing was that both of them were basically kind and thoughtful people who had allowed themselves to be persuaded to do something alien to their nature by someone they knew to be emotionally screwed up. I would have expected them to talk to Edward, explain that running away wasn't an option and wouldn't change anything, it certainly hadn't made me any safer or happy. Why they hadn't I could only guess at and I no longer cared, I had the man I intended to spend eternity with and the others would just have to live with the consequences. Maybe it would help them in the future, they might just have learned a valuable lesson if he found himself his true mate among the humans.

I knew my dad wanted me to go to college and both he and Renee were dismayed when Jasper and I told them of our plans for the future. We were going to be married as soon as I graduated and then travel. The latter was the only possible excuse to leave and I hoped they would become used to not seeing me although I wasn't sure how we would work it once I was a vampire and could never see them again anyway, there would be time to address that problem later.

When Angie hit me with the news that she and Peter were going to marry too I was over the moon, I would have my best friend's company in my new life. I wondered how much he had told her about his real nature but I needn't have worried, she had been shocked yes but the pull of her mate overcame any fears for her safety.

"I thought he was joking at first, I mean a vampire? It sounded so far-fetched, crazy even but then I got to thinking about all the little oddities I had noticed and suddenly it seemed more real. When he explained that Jasper was a vampire too and that you knew and had known for a very long time I felt relieved, I wasn't alone in this madness."

"It does take time to sink in, it's like you've entered the Twilight Zone at first and expect to wake up any minute to find it was all a stupid nightmare."

"Yes, that's exactly how I felt but then I decided it made no difference to the way I felt about Peter, I still love him. If he'd wanted to kill me he could have done any number of times and just vanished, no one would have found him if he didn't want them to, I trusted him. There is just one thing, though."

"What?"

"Why hasn't he told me the rest of the Cullens are vampires too? I mean it's pretty obvious when you know things."

"I guess he wanted to give you time to take it all in. What did your parents say when you told them you were engaged?"

She shrugged,

"Mom cried and dad tried to talk us out of it. He didn't really have a leg to stand on, though, he and my mom married when he was twenty-one but she was only just eighteen."

"Nice to have some leverage."

"What about yours?"

"Mom told me to follow my heart after an initial hysterical outburst, her past wasn't exactly a model she could use against me either."

"And your dad?"

"He went nuts, tried to dissuade us altogether at first then to put it off while I attended college and then finally gave his tight-lipped blessing but I think he was considering having me committed at first, especially after the way Edward dumped me."

We all understood Charlie's reluctance but he would come around once he realized he was fighting a lost battle!

I understood Esme was sad once she understood that Angie and I were going to have a double wedding and she was not going to be the one arranging things, or Alice. Both of us were horrified at the thought of Alice's very expensive and not like us at all ideas. We wanted something simple and pretty, neither of us were particularly sophisticated and the thought of top hats and tails made us both shiver. If Esme and Alice had been left to organize the big day money would be no object but we wanted what our parents wanted, to make their daughter's wedding day a special family affair and luckily Renee and Angie's mom seemed to be on the same wavelength although all we were told was that the wedding and reception would be held at Lake Crescent, a place we knew as it was local.

Our duties consisted of choosing the color scheme and our dresses and those of the page boys, Angie's twin brothers Isaac and Joshua. After that, all we had to do was sit back and relax while the rest was organized by the two families. I think Renee and Mrs Webber did involve Esme to some extent as one of the groom's mother's but she wasn't mentioned very much by either in my hearing. As far as they knew Peter too was an orphan with no family at all and the Webbers took him under their wing feeling sorry for him at such a time, especially when he added that he had no friends either. Angie and I decided that was because he didn't want any more vampires in the area than necessary. After all, who wanted the Minister and guests becoming the wedding breakfast!


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

 **Jasper**

How had I suddenly become so lucky? All my impossible dreams had come true in the best possible way. My mate, my human mate, had put her own life at risk in order to stop me committing the most stupid idiocy. She was brave, strong, warm-hearted and she forgave me for everything. The fact she was now best friends with Peter and that Bella's own best friend had fallen in love with him was the icing on the cake.

Talking about icing and cakes the wedding was fast approaching and I couldn't wait. Esme and Carlisle had insisted on giving all four of us the use of Esme Island complete with a private jet to and from Rio and the speedboat as a wedding present which meant we would have all the privacy we could ask for.

Bella and Angie had everything under control with their parents so Peter and I had an easy time of it, all we had to do was appear at the appropriate time in our suits and remember our lines although Esme was insistent that we should rehearse those.

"I do, how fu….how hard is that to remember?"

He knew better than to use cuss words around Esme and got a smile for the quick change of words.

"Surely you are going to write your own vows, Peter?"

"Write what?"

"Your vows, you know, I promise to love honor and all that?"

"Oh right, what's wrong with those words? I already know them and the Preacher prompts anyway doesn't he?"

Her frown of disapproval was enough to send us both scurrying out to a quiet place to think about vows!

We didn't see the girls the day before the ceremony, they had gone out for the day with Renee, Angela's mom and Esme and refused to tell us where. We could have found out easily enough but as Emmett and Carlisle were charged with making sure we didn't attempt to follow them we decided on a short hunt. Peter had moved from an entirely human blood diet to a mostly animal one which surprised me, especially when he admitted it had been his own idea.

"That's the great thing about Angie, she just accepts what I am and doesn't try to change me. I was expecting the whole guilt trip thing but she just smiled and said,

"Peter, you are what you are through no fault of your own and I accept that."

"Amazing eh?"

It was coming from the seemingly timid girl I had known at school but Peter had changed her too. She was more outgoing now although still sweet and gentle and Bella had suggested I might be surprised how much Peter would change under her influence.

"Angie is strong when she needs to be but she doesn't often need to be. Her very character makes others mellow."

Her wedding vows to Peter just showed how right Bella was.

The lodge at Crescent Lake was decorated in pink and white, understated with no balloons and no overpowering installations. As we walked in to wait for our brides we looked around relieved it wasn't overpowering. There was a white wrought iron archway decorated with fresh flowers and bows on the small dais where we took our places while Rose played soft music on the piano. Edward had offered to play at the wedding but Bella had refused his offer but was going to allow him to play at the reception, a really good idea because it meant he would be too busy to try asking her for a dance. She had forgiven him but would never forget and there was a slightly strained atmosphere whenever the two met.

I was distracted from my thoughts when the music changed to the wedding march and both Peter and I turned to see our brides walk slowly down the aisle on their respective father's arms. They both looked beautiful in simple long ivory dresses, Angie's short sleeved with a pink bow at the waist while Bella's had long lace sleeves and a simple pink beaded bodice.

Angie's twin brothers walked along in front of the girls dressed in dark suits with pink ties scattering petals from white bowls and grinning. I knew they were under threat of not being allowed to join us at the table for the wedding breakfast if they messed up but I half expected one or the other to pull a frog out of his pocket or stick out a tongue but they behaved impeccably much to their mother's relief.

Bella and I exchanged vows first and had chosen to use simple ones pledging each other our loyalty, fidelity and lives to each other but Angie's were quite beautiful,

"As we go through life together,

I will be your lover, companion, and friend,

your ally in conflict, and mischief.

Your greatest fan and your toughest adversary,

your comrade in adventure,

your student and your teacher,

your consolation in disappointment,

your accomplice in mischief,

your strength in your need and vulnerable to you in my own,

and most of all,

your associate in the search for enlightenment.

When I go to the place in me that is Love.

And you go into that place in you that is Love.

There we are One."

Peter's surprised us all far more, to hear such words coming from him was astonishing!

"Gentle soul, it is with wonder and joy that I take you to be my cherished wife.

To join with you and to share with you all that is to come.

To give and to receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond.

To continue finding the delight we have discovered in each other's company.

In our life together I promise to be loyal,

to cherish you with my whole being,

and to see you always through the eyes of love.

I hold you tenderly in my heart,

and I entrust myself to your heart,

on this our sacred wedding day,

and for all the days to come."

Then it was over and we were married for all eternity.

Every vampire guest got through the wedding breakfast without giving themselves away and both Peter and I found ourselves being dragged on the dance floor numerous times and I found it a relief when I finally found Bella in my arms. I could feel the joy bursting from her and the smile she wore lit up her already radiant face.

"Poor you, poor Peter too but don't worry, we'll be leaving soon."

I held her close as I whisked her around the floor and knew my life was complete at last, Bella and I would never be parted again.

 **Bella**

It was a relief to be out of the spotlight with time for all the tension of the day to dissipate as we waved goodbye to Charlie who had insisted on driving us to the airport. He had finally accepted the inevitable with good grace and even looked happy for us. The flight was long and I slept with my head on Jasper's shoulder, our hands entwined smiling when I saw Angie doing the same thing. Something had changed in her since she met Peter, there was a more confident air about her and I knew Peter better watch himself, she wouldn't put up with his moods or cussing. She enjoyed a laugh as much as him, in fact, I found my friend had a small devil in her after all and it was always worth being careful once the two of them got together in a corner and began to giggle!

Our bed went missing and we found it, made up and looking beautiful on a floating raft anchored out in the sea about four hundred yards off the beach and another time at the top of the waterfall in the center of the island. We got our own back by stealing all their clothes and replacing them with others we fashioned with vegetation and for two days they were forced to wear grass skirts! They were very imaginative however and I began to worry that next time we might find ourselves sleeping under the waterfall instead of at the top of it!

All in all, it was a wonderful honeymoon and we knew that when we got back to the mainland we would be looking for somewhere we could live together. There was still the small detail of our transformations to be sorted and a good excuse conjured up for our parents. Carlisle had suggested a plane crash which horrified both Angie and myself until he explained it would be a small jet so no one need to get hurt, he even had a friend with a pilot's license and who could walk away from the crash which it was decided would happen over the ocean so it would not be necessary to obtain any bodies. I felt sorry for both our sets of parents having to go through the pain of losing their daughters but it was the only way to keep them safe so we agreed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

 **Jasper**

We all wanted to stay on the island even if possibly for different reasons. This was paradise and Peter and I would gladly have stayed for much longer but there was an unpleasant task that had to be fulfilled. For Angie and Bella to become vampires and live safely it was necessary that their families believe them both dead. They knew there was no way we could be together and keep contact, it wouldn't take long for people to realize neither girl was ageing which would lead to questions and questions meant danger for everyone.

Carlisle arranged the plane crash over the ocean on our flight home which was arranged to go via sightseeing in the Dominican Republic. The night before we were due to leave both girls rang their parents to speak to them for the last time, emotional conversations for both although they were careful to sound upbeat and happy. The pain would fade but for a while afterwards we were busy trying to keep their minds occupied. To hear of your own death couldn't be easy and it was on the television as a tragedy, two newlywed couples dying as they returned from their honeymoon.

Darius provided new identities for both girls and Peter and I merely took the name Cullen as the easiest. Both Hale and Whitlock were too dangerous should anyone be suspicious although we didn't expect trouble. Esme and Carlisle stayed in Forks to offer comfort to Charlie and Angie's parents who were all devastated at their loss.

"So, where do we go now?"

It was a question both girls had asked and to take their minds off the suffering of those they loved we told them to pick somewhere. It would be folly to go straight back to the States once the papers picked up on the tragedy and made a big thing about it but the rest of the world was open to them. At first, they just sat staring at a map of the world we spread out on the table without speaking which was slightly unnerving.

"We'll leave you to talk about it."

With that, Peter kissed Angie, grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house.

"Give them some space Major, it'll take time to sink in that they can choose anywhere except where they really want to be right now."

 **Bella**

Once the sounds of the guy's footsteps faded away I glanced up at Angie who looked as bewildered as I felt.

"This is like some fantasy story, any idea's?"

She shook her head,

"Not really. I knew what had to be done but even so, it seems odd to think everyone we know and love is grieving for us. That I'll never see my little brothers again or hug my mom. I mean, I know I've done the best thing for me, I'm so happy with Peter, but it's hurt so many other people. Do you think it will get easier? That we'll forget?"

I shook my head,

"We'll never forget them, how could we. I guess this is just the beginning, I mean in a few years there won't be anyone we knew still alive yet we'll be just like we are now. I hadn't really understood how painful emotionally it was to become immortal, to know that whatever happens, we'll still be young and beautiful."

She sighed and looked down at the map again,

"Well, I guess we should think about where we want to go next. Any idea's?"

"I think I'd like somewhere I understand the language, we'll have enough going on without learning to speak a new language and pick up new ways of life."

"OK, so let's narrow it down to English-speaking countries first."

We looked it up on the internet and came up with a list of countries where English was the majority language then crossed off the United States and Canada as being off limits in the short term. It still left a long list of places but two really stood out for us, usually, we would have been keen for a hot sunny climate but there were drawbacks for a vampire whose skin would give it away in the bright sunshine.

"Looks like we have a choice of four, parts of Australia and new Zealand, the United Kingdom or Ireland."

In the end, we decided on the UK, Scotland in particular as it had fewer hours of sunshine than most other places on the list and there were still wild animals to hunt although most of these were deer. At least we could visit other places from there easily, the continent was only a short flight away.

Waiting on the island for the news of the crash to fade away after the news reported there were no survivors and the plane wreckage was lost at the bottom of the ocean we continued to enjoy our extended honeymoon with only short periods of guilt or sorrow.

It was good to get news from Forks and to find that our parents had become resigned to the fact we were dead. Esme offered to send the papers with the articles about our deaths and funerals but that was just too morbid for either of us and we declined. I was just happy to learn that my dad was getting on with things and his job kept his mind occupied a lot of the time. Renee had returned to Jacksonville although she did keep in touch with Charlie which I was relieved to hear,

Angie's parents had taken it harder partly because her twin brothers couldn't understand their big sister would never be coming home again but Esme had offered her mom a comforting shoulder to cry on and the two had become close friends.

"That;s good but what happens when Carlisle and Esme leave Forks for good? Mom is going to be even more devastated then."

"They'll stay until your mom gets sorted out and she does have the boys which must help."

Angie agreed but I know she spent a lot of time with Peter talking about her fears and guilt. Jasper was amazed at the way Peter treated her.

"I never knew he had such patience and sympathy in him but then Peter is surprising me in so many ways."

Something else was concerning me, something I hadn't really thought about before but once it occurred to me I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Jazz, do the Volturi know we're married? Angie and I?"

"I would think so, very little gets past their spies, why?"

"Won't they be angry that we're still human? Are we going to be in trouble about it?"

"No, Bella, because as soon as we become established in a new home I'll contact them and explain Peter and I are going to change you and Angie very soon. As long as they are kept informed there shouldn't be a problem.

It was strange and very unsettling finding ourselves in a new country and looking for somewhere to call home. Neither Angie nor I had really understood how different life would be or how unsettling it would feel to have no roots, we'd both been close to all those we left behind, those who had grieved our loss and then moved on and found solace in each other. Then slowly the excitement of finding a home crept up and helped sweep away the pain and we decided once we had somewhere familiar to return to we were ready to undergo the transformation into vampires.

Luckily Scotland had remote areas so it might be possible to stay at home if we were able to control ourselves and as our husbands were experts at handling newborns thanks to their years in Maria's services that would appear to be simple.

The house we settled on was a simple stone-built farmhouse that had stood empty for some years in the central highlands. The scenery was breathtaking and our only near neighbors the wildlife that called the mountains and gorse* covered heathland. Transport would be difficult and there were no services supplied as the agent was quick to point out thinking we would throw up our hands in horror seeing the reality and run for the hills. However, when he discovered we were looking for seclusion he was much happier to point out its many features in that respect. I think he looked on us as crazy Americans with more money than sense but our money was as good as any ones! Settling in after the arduous task of bringing in all the supplies we would need, not to mention furniture and everything else the house was lacking, after all the restoration work was done, we waited for the first snow of winter isolating us completely before beginning the change to our new immortal lives.

*Gorse is an extremely prickly bush with yellow flowers that grows on heathland for those unsure of the word.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

 **Bella**

Things were as chaotic as usual in the house and both Angie and I hoped the guys would be back soon, only they seemed to have the knack of calming things down when they were about to go to hell in a handcart and that pretty well explained the situation right now. I heard a yell of anger and then tears and ran upstairs from the kitchen to see what was going on.

The bathroom was awash with water and Aggie was holding Pete Jr's head under water.

"What are you doing young lady?"

She looked around at me with the face of an angel,

"Nothing mommy but Pete was using cuss words so I told him I was going to wash his mouth out with soap."

I groaned and rescued Peter from the water trying to smother a smile at the bubbles coming from his mouth. It seemed my daughter had made good on her threat.

Corey, Peter's twin brother peered round the edge of the door.

"Mom's coming Peter, you're gonna get a whippin' you know she doesn't like it when you say fu."

"Stop right there young man unless you want one too."

Angie sent both boys to their room while I tried to explain to Abbie that it was not acceptable behaviour to half drown her cousin, even in fun! Of course, she had a valid excuse but that was beside the point, as I pointed out to her it was down to Peter's mom or dad to discipline him not her.

"Why does Uncle Peter use rude words, mommy? Daddy doesn't."

There was no answer to that or if there was I had yet to find it so instead I told her to get changed out of the wet clothes she was wearing and come down to dinner in ten minutes bringing the boys with her. Angie and I both knew that they would all three be best of friends within minutes after an argument, it was always that way.

Things hadn't worked out quite the way we expected, finding ourselves pregnant within days of each other just as we were about to become vampires had been a shock as well as a delight. Of course, it meant we would have to wait for a while until the babies were born and grown enough that they wouldn't miss us if they were too human. Newborns and vulnerable children with human blood in their veins was not a good mix.

Abbie was born first, a beautiful little girl with blond ringlets and golden eyes who was more vampire than human but the most wonderful child I had ever seen and her father doted on her. Three weeks later Angie brought twin boys into the world and we all knew life would never be the same. They both had Angie's beauty but also that gleam in the eye Peter had when he was looking for trouble and within months they were toddling around following Abbie and leading the rest of us a merry dance.

If there was a way to get in a mess they would find it and if not, then they would create the opportunity! All three grew quickly, much more quickly than their human counterparts so we couldn't enrol them in any school when they were ready at about two years of age. Instead, they were home schooled and much to our amazement the Volturi offered to help through a video link. They were fascinated at the thought of hybrid babies and accepted Jasper and Peter's word that once the children were old enough Angie and I would become vampires. Marcus who Abbie adored gave them first-hand accounts of world history, including the history of vampires while Caius taught them languages. Corey picked them up rapidly becoming fluent in Italian, Greek, Latin and French in the first year. Peter Junior was the problem, he was bright enough but he had his father's attitude to school learning, he would much rather be on horseback or hiking and of course fighting and pranks!

The other talent young Peter had was mimicking his father's rather colorful language and no matter how often we talked with him about using cuss words in front of the children he always forgot. He also thought there was nothing particularly wrong with a colorful way of speaking which went down like a lead balloon with Angie who was soft spoken and never swore.

When the guys got back from town with the final timbers to build the boy's fort in the yard a few minutes later Peter was out telling tales to his dad who came storming over to me.

"Is it right Abbie tried to fucking drown Peter? What's wrong with the fuck…"

"PETER!"

Angie's warning tone of voice brought him up short and he smiled grabbing her by the waist and swinging her around before planting her once more on her feet in front of him,

"I missed you Angie but why weren't you watching the boys in the bathtub?"

"Because my dear, they weren't in the tub, or at least they shouldn't have been. They were actually up there to try out your wet razor. The one you left lying about despite being warned about doing so. Does that ring any bells?"

He opened his mouth to reply then thought better of it while Jazz merely watched from the sidelines enjoying the sight of Peter getting a dressing down.

"Sensible move. He ended up in the bath because he was cussing and Abbie decided to punish him the way I threaten to do and if you don't mind your mouth I'll be doing it to you too."

The boys thought this was a great idea and begged their mom to carry out her threat until Peter chased them into the barn. Jasper took my hand and shook his head in mock sadness.

"I'm so sorry I brought you into this madhouse Bella."

I grinned knowing neither of us would have to any other way, the children were our pride and joy and living with Peter and Angie filled our need for a family. The others visited after the children were born and it was good to see them but I would never count them as family, more good friends that we saw from time to time. Maybe once I was a vampire myself I would feel differently but that would have to wait a little longer.

"Come on darlin' let's get you inside before that dinner you are cooking burns."

With one hand in his and the other over the swell of my pregnant stomach, we walked back inside the house and I wondered if this time it would be a boy.

 **The End**


End file.
